100 Days As You
by Renachi
Summary: Flora and Riven had always lived at opposite ends of the spectrum. One morning, they wake up and find themselves in the wrong body. As, the two struggle to live, they learn to find happiness within inconvenient circumstances. AU
1. Next Time Think Twice

_Disclaimer: I do not own Winx Club. All recognizable characters belong to Straffi. Plot and OCs belong to me._

_Summary: Flora and Riven had always lived at opposite ends of the spectrum. One morning, they wake up and find themselves in the wrong body. As, the two struggle to live, they learn to find happiness within inconvenient circumstances. AU_

**100 Days As You**

**_By: renachi_**

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE – NEXT TIME THINK TWICE**

I paused in front of the sight of Musa shoving handfuls of popcorn mixed with Doritos and truffles into her mouth. Musa's eyes were as big as saucer. They kept absorbing in the flashing images of the Specialists jamming out their music with blinding strobe lights flying to every corner of the stage. The music was so loud that I could even catch the lyrics.

"Why do you watch that stuff again?"

Musa was so deeply engrossed in her music concert marathon that she didn't even notice me. During the marathon, she would stay up till dawn watching media and singing her lungs out as softly as possible so that we wouldn't receive complaints from the police. Then the next morning or afternoon, I would make her brunch: steaming tea, delicate scones, nicely fried scrambled eggs, rich curry, and a blueberry muffin. It was our tradition since we both moved into our apartment.

Musa had a bond with music that no one could interfere with. She adored her music as much as I adored my nature, and accepted her music worship as her best friend. Since high school, she has been the friend that you would spend nights watching sappy chic flicks while gouging down dark chocolate cake with coffee. As cliché as this sounds, I could safely say that I knew everything about her: her shoe size, favorite color, favorite food, least favorite food, most embarrassing moment, her bra size, and the list goes on. Yet, I still could not fathom why on earth she was a die-hard Specialist fan. I couldn't see the band's merit.

The Specialists were the hottest addiction in the music world since they debuted two years ago. Immediately after their debut, they received dozens of jobs to go on talk shows, interview, and performances. Two years later, their popularity still was at its peak.

"Musa?" I repeated her name. Finally, I won her attention.

"Oh, sorry," Musa perked. "The song's over now."

I shook my head, lamenting for my friend. "I don't get it. What so great about that band?"

"You mean what's not great about them? Come on Flora. The music is great, the men are great, the stage effects are great."

"Ok, maybe the effects are pretty high tech," I admitted.

"How about the music and guys?"

"…Umm…"

She sighed. "Ok. I'll concede that the music may not be your taste. You're into reggae so rock may may not float you boat, but, come on, you have to admit that those guys are good looking men," Musa said, urging me to look at the TV screen where the performance of the band members played on the screen.

The four men who made up the band were every teenage girl's dream guy. There was the cute, shy genius, the mysterious hopeless romantic, the nice guy you could bring back home for your parents, and the bad boy that always kept you on the edge. Music, popularity, and image. The band had all three.

"How about Helia?" she pointed out as the face of band's lead singer and bassist appeared on the screen. "He's mysterious, romantic, a pacifist, tree hugger, and he's a poet," Musa said, wagging her finger playfully as her brows jumped. "He's practically your man twin."

"Well," I began hesitantly, "Helia is a good guy…but he's in the world of idols and stars. What are the chances I'll ever meet him?" I shook my head in rejection. "I'd rather not mull over a man I'll never meet."

Musa chuckled. "Of course you wouldn't. You have a loving boyfriend," she teased.

I think I must have blushed in three shades of pink.

"He invited you to a party tonight right? So don't mind me and go meet that boyfriend of yours. " Musa motioned with her hand for me to get out as she tossed another kernel into her mouth while keeping her eyes fixed on the screen.

"I know. I'm leaving," I hesitantly gave my farewell before turning around to turn the doorknob.

"Wait!"

Wait? Did she notice that what I am wearing is hers? I didn't mean to steal. I just didn't think she would care if I borrowed a clothing item of hers without telling. That night, I had spent an hour digging through my closet trying to find something that would make me look like a sophisticated, mature woman, not like an innocent, sweet girl. After an hour, I couldn't find anything so I ended up digging through Musa's closet. In the end, I settled for her pitch black tube dress with gold heels. Gold hoops finished the outfit.

"Is that my dress?" Musa's eyes narrowed as she studied me.

I tentatively nodded.

"Not that I care if you borrow my clothing but are you sure you want to wear that? It's not your usual earthy, pastel-colored style." Musa scrunched her eyebrows and tucked a strand of her silky ebony hair back. I fidgeted. She was rigiht. I would have never worn the dress either. Suddenly, Musa's face brightened up like a bulb. "It is something with Roy right?"

"Well, actually, I'm going to a company party and I've been to his workplace before. The people there were," I paused trying to think, "intriguing. There was this woman who flirted with Roy, and he looked, _entertained_. And I just… I need—"

Confidence.

I felt my heart wrench in pain as I said that was pure torture to imagine the love of my life casually flirting with some other touchy woman.

Musa let out a long sigh. "Flora, you know you have nothing to worry about. Dude. You are super sexy. You don't need to worry about dressing up in a different way just to match up to those boyfriend stealers."

"Yea I know but—" I quickly defended.

"Suuupppper sexy," Musa cut me off again, her round eyes sending me the message to surrender.

"But—"

" sexy."

I heaved a sigh in defeat. "Fine. So you're fine with me borrowing your dress for one night?" I rolled my eyes, looking at Musa grinning with victory.

"Fine by me. You still look—"

"Sexy?" I gave a wry smile as we both stayed in silence for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter.

"Well, have a fun night," Musa grinned.

"Thanks. Have fun night too."

I would never have guessed the irony in her words until the next morning.

ººº

The ride to the party was calm. Musa's pep talk put me at ease so I tuned in to a relaxing music station.

When I finally got to the party, all my nervousness rushed back. My palms were clammy and my legs became jelly. It was hard to believe, but though I had dated Roy for three years already since I was twenty, I had never been invited to any part hosted by his company, a popular store selling silverware, lamps, chairs, and other house goodies. Finally it was time for him, the manager, to invite his long time girlfriend to a friendly company party. He said I didn't have to worry about bringing any gift because the occasion was just to have fun like a banquet.

I'm not sure if it was because he was concerned that I would be insecure or because he just forgot, but I was always scared to find out so I never asked. I had visited his company multiple times before I not everyone that was bound to be at the party came off as a stranger, but nevertheless, I still worried about the foreign environment.

What if it was because he was embarrassed with me and just stayed with me not to hurt me? A bunch of what-if's made a crowd in my mind like "what if I made a fool out of myself" and "what if he was tired of me and liked another girl and was using the party to tell me". But I immediately threw those preposterous nightmares away. Nothing bad was going to happen as usual and I was just over thinking. I need to trust Roy and trust myself. Everyone said that I was rather too nervous when problems related to guys popped up. In the end I would try to run away. Well not this time.

_You are sexy Flora. You are beautiful._

Ok. I could do this. How could I be so insecure after three years of dating Roy? It was unreasonable. What was there to be insecure about?

The first time I met Roy started as a disaster and ended as a dream. Two years ago, I had entered a new cafe just to try other people's tea for once. While working on some papers, I waited for my cup of tea to come. When it finally came, things weren't very pretty.

The way I was served was far from graceful. Roy had been the waiter and misfortunately bumped into a visitor which set the tea flying at the person he was serving, me. The steaming tea fell on my clothing. It burned my skin and made my wince but I couldn't help but forgive Roy after he apologized for the umpteenth time and even offered to dry clean the clothes for me.

One encounter led to another. For him to dry clean my clothes, he needed to know my phone number so he could return the clothes when they were done.

"I could go with you to wash them," I kindly offered.

"No really. Let me." Roy replied looking away and scratching his head. "I'm embarrassed about my mistake. If you don't let me, I don't know how I will be able to forgive myself."

That last line was so cheesy that it left a soft smile on my face. So I gave him my number. Naturally more encounters followed and then more dates. Then on my birthday, Roy asked me if we could start dating seriously.

Recalling memories gave me hope. After making a fist, I started walking to that two floored studio model house booming with dance music—the ones with long windows and wide balconies that a stylish young CEO in a romantic movie would own—looking only forward. My journey was long. Each step was an hour and each arm movement was a day. But I immediately felt relieved when I saw the inside.

The atmosphere was inviting with the smell of vanilla and sound of friendly chatter in the air. I was worried over nothing. I gracefully strolled in. "Excuse me, have you seen Roy?" I asked a lady with a thick layer of blush on her face.

"Roy?" she pondered, obviously confused about something. Then she answered with a dubious expression while pointing behind me. "He's over there by the balcony."

My face brightened as I gave my thanks. The weird girl was rather intent on leaving quickly and her weak smile made her look more scared than friendly. Either way, I stepped out on to the balcony. But where was Roy?

I felt a tap on my shoulder and found a short, cute girl looking at me with big round dark eyes. Her wavy light hair and fair skin made her look like a porcelain doll from Sweden. "Looking for Roy?" the girl spoke.

"Mhm. Have you seen him?" I asked.

"He's down there," her eyes gazed down into the backyard.

Then I saw Roy. Some woman in was straddling his lap.

"What is he doing?" I squinted.

"Didn't you know?" she sneered, satisfied. "Roy is popular amongst the ladies in our department. Well I guess it is obvious that he is. Good looking, smart, has money, and flirty."

I thought I heard wrong. "W-What?"

"Poor girl. You never know and you've been dating him for how long? Three years?"

My chest was burning. Denial. Betrayal. Grief. Realization. It all happened at the same time.

I didn't want to face reality, but my body wouldn't cooperate and I ended up crumbling. Tears started to burn at the corners of my eyes as I tried my best to hold them back. My clenched fist started to tremble and my eyes were wide open, unable to look away. I kept hoping that what I was seeing was a mistake.

"S-Shut up," I stuttered weakly.

"So how is Roy in bed? The techniques we taught him in bed are simply _amazing."_

"_Shut up!"_

I bit back my lower lip. My heels clacked as I backed up and ran as fast as I could from the scene.

I came to my car, ready to dive in and hide my tears from the world, but then I spotted Roy's car a few cars in front of me, and I couldn't stop myself from approaching it. I glared at car's sleek red paint job, wishing that looks could burn. And then without thinking, I swung my foot at his tire, letting out the pent up rush of anger. As a reward, I earned a throbbing ache in my toe. But the alarm did not honk in protest.

My eyes widen as I realized that Roy didn't lock his car. I could wreck up his car as revenge. I could engrave painful scratches on the metal, rip the leather chairs to shreds, and slash the tires. The possibility tantalized me immensely, but I shied away from it. I was scared of the ramifications. Like a coward, I backed up and drove away, leaving his defenseless car in pristine condition.

ººº

I somehow found my way to a bar. I didn't even remember how I got there. All I wanted was to escape and hide under a rock. I wanted to go somewhere where I could forget everything.

At the end of the long drive was a bar, a life-saving bar and then I realized that alcohol was the best way to forget. I had never drank before in my whole life but when you are told that your boyfriend was cheating with multiple girls at his work, witness it, and then get anointed with a martini, it seems like your savior.

I stumbled into the bar towards the closest chair by the counter.

"I'll have your best," I drawled.

"Oh. Same," a hoarse voice said from my side. A guy in a black hood sat next to me. I must have been there before I came.

"All right young lady. Right away," a shrill voice spoke.

I took a good took at the bartender. It was an old lady with her fluffy white hair in a perm. Delicate glasses sat at the tip of her nose, waiting for a moment to slip off. My first time at a bar and the bartender was a granny? My life was very weird indeed. Weird and sad. Another sigh came out.

"Hear you go."

A mug of liquid slid onto the counter. Without delay, I, desperate to forget about what happened earlier that night, chugged the liquid down.

When I finished, all I had left was a bad aftertaste in my mouth. I heard the guy beside me complain about the alcohol and the granny scolding him for wasting a good drink. With amusement, I watched as his offended face slowly finished his drink. When he finished, he had a that-was-the-worst-thing-I-have-ever-drank look as he violently rubbed his lips. Following that a few more words were thrown between the bartender and guy. It almost made me forget about what happened that night. _Almost._

"Who's a slut?" I drawled. I wasn't the slut. Maybe that doll-like girl was the slut. Oh! That girl who was sitting on R-him was the slut.

"H-Huh?" The guy next to me stared with confusion. His face looked really familiar. Maybe he was a customer at my shop before?

"Popular my butt. Who cares if that butt was on his lap?" I didn't! I really didn't. Ok. I did. But who wouldn't care if your boyfriend was being straddled by a woman that had a too short dress that would fall off if her giant breasts didn't keep it up?

"What the heck are you talking about?" the could-be-past-customer asked in annoyance. I ignored him and continued, again.

"Was I not enough? I tried my best! I loved him! Loved him. Loved you so much. Why?" I cried. "Why?"

"Crying drunks," the granny tittered.

Granny seemed like she had a lot of experience with crying drunks. I was just another miserable person in the miserable place called Earth. I was just one out of a million of other crying drunkards so why did it hurt so much to be betrayed when I'm so insignificant.

"Why did this happen? My what-ifs came true. I even wore the stupid dress. Why didn't you just tell me instead of doing it why? Give me peace! Why!" I yelled out with distress.

If I had known all of my wild horrors would have come true then I would have never entered the cursed building. If only I had known, then I would have fled to a faraway place the day I met Roy. Then I could have been spared the agony.

"Hey. Calm down," the guy stuttered. He seemed scared and started to back away from me.

"Ah...I wasn't good enough. Wasn't good. I hate this."

I prolonged that last word as my eyes slowly closed with tears sliding down my cheeks. Granny and the guy were watching but I didn't care what others thought. I wanted to escape and I was granted my wish.

* * *

_Thanks for reading. Tell me what you think and review. _

_Renachi_


	2. Directionally Challenged

_Disclaimer: I do not own Winx Club. All recognizable characters belong to Straffi. Plot and OCs belong to me._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO – DIRECTIONALLY CHALLENGED**

"Who was in charge of lights?" I'm sure my face was bitter and threatening right now. That was how I wanted it. Silence.

"WHO WAS IN CHARGE OF THE LIGHTS!" My voice thundered throughout the backstage. It wasn't a question. It was a demand. I made sure that everyone backstage knew that Riven was pissed. People froze as their stared for a second then they started glancing around, looking for the poor lad that was going to become my verbal chew toy.

"M-me?" a timid voice echoed in the large silence. There stood a guy with a well groomed black goatee and hazel eyes. He must have been at least ten years older than me but at that moment, he seemed like an eight year old. I approached him with piercing eyes.

"You. You think you did a good job tonight?" I questioned him like he was some criminal.

"Uhhh...Yes?" he replied with a hopeful tone. Sadly, no.

"Oh really? When I was upstage, I felt dizzy like I was going to fall down. Who's fault do you think that was?"

"Mine?" the guy replied, all hope crushed, grinded, and thrown out.

"Correct. The freakin' light kept shining in the light and how many different colored lights need to be flashed every ten seconds!" I complained violently. "And-" A hand on my arm made my pause. To my side stood the one and only man that would interfere.

"Riven. Terrorizing another one of our staff?" he asked with a stern face.

"Just a friendly conversation, _Helia_,"I replied confidently. Helia became the mediator again meaning he was putting a leash on me. That habit of his was annoying and he either needed to get it fixed so I can properly vent or use it to benefit my purpose.

Helia turned his attention to my verbal chew toy. "Sorry. He has a horrible temper. Please, excuse him. Thank you for your hard work today," he politely apologized. The poor man looked lost and confused, unsure what to do as he glanced at me, then back at Helia, and once again back at me before he took off running like a frightened mutt.

"Hey. What the heck was that about?" I angrily accused Helia. If Helia thought he could just step in at anytime he wanted like some hero of justice, he was wrong. My business was my business and he needed to back off. I finally found a way to vent and he just destroyed it.

"Something happened today huh? Your mother?" Helia completely ignored me. I let out a fed up sigh and answered.

"It's none of your business." Helia gave a cocky smirk.

"You know you can trust me Riven."

f course I knew I could but I just didn't want to talk about my _mother._ From what I knew, someone who abandoned their baby at five to run away with their lover and comes back twenty-one years later when she hears about her son's sudden rise in wealth and fame doesn't deserve to be called a mother. I lived in denial that she was my mother for a while till I saw the medical reports she threw at me. Of course she kept saying that she didn't expect anything from me since it was her fault that she abandoned me.

What a bunch of lies that was.

She wanted money because she was a gold digger. She said all she wanted was my forgiveness.

Another lie.

I didn't want to recall our conversation from earlier that day. But I couldn't forget about no matter how much I tried.

"Riven, how's your career progressing," she craftily asked.

"Fine," I coldly replied, unwilling to give in and show her the tiniest bit of warmth my voice.

"That's good. It is good things are going well for you. I was worried about you when I left you all those years ago you know." Well if you felt bad about it then why did you do it the first place already? Oh yea, because you didn't give a care about your own child. That was the type of mother you were.

"Do you know how hard I searched for you? Do you know how surprised I was when I saw you on TV. I thought I was imagining things. My son, a celebrity," she dreamily said with that fake voice of hers.

If I had known that becoming famous would make her come back to me, I would have became the biggest superstar in the world twenty years ago when I went to sleep alone, crying. I would have done anything to bring my mom back me back then because no matter how much I called out for her in my dream, she never came back. She ditched me for her lover and left to who knows where. Europe? Alaska? China? I didn't give a damn.

That conversation ruined my mood for the rest of the day. I had to spend the whole concert with a full mind and couldn't concentrate fully on playing well. Of course the performance was flawless and beautiful as usual but just the thought that I had difficulty with performing made me even more frustrated. And it was all that woman's fault.

"Why don't we go get a drink?" Helia proposed. A drink? Helia had no idea how inviting that sounded right then and there.

"Sounds goods. Where did Brandon and Timmy go?" I asked Helia.

"Timmy went home already and probably won't come out. Brandon said he had some business to take care of," Helia informed.

"Disguises?"

"Hoodies, sunglasses, and caps. You have them in your closet right?"

"Yah." Going out and enjoying ourselves became a danger after we became famous. Even with disguises, there was always a risk we were taking so going to the bar became a rare occasion. That's why I disliked starting the band in the first place. My freedom was gone.

"Cool. I found a quiet and new bar nearby. It should be safe there. I'll text you the directions. See you there in half an hour."

ººº

_Turn right on Sunset Boulevard. _

I sat in my newly bought black Mazda. The city nights lights were everywhere I went along with large billboards. The traffic streets gave me time to glance at Helia's directions. Unfortunately, the lack of activity also increased the difficulty to not zone out due to boredom. Traffic in the city was a monster. Once again, I zoned out, recalling the rest of that annoying conversation that took place earlier that day.

"You should have came earlier," I listlessly muttered. I refused to shed a tear or show the slightest emotion. "Then your son wouldn't have become the trash he was today."

"Trash? Your a superstar Riven. I've heard that you are smart and graduated with good grades for college too. What are you talking about? And I would have came earlier but I didn't know where to start looking," she explained. Funny thing was that I never went anywhere. I stayed in the same city since I was born.

"You are completely wrong." In my eyes, the only thing there was rejection. "You don't know me at all. Your son isn't a superstar. He isn't a scholar. And you aren't my mother."

"W-what are you talking about Riven. You've seen the reports," the woman stammered.

"You still aren't my mother. You will never be my mother again."

Finally, the car in front of me began to move again, awakening from my idleness. I looked over at my phone to see the directions.

_Make a righty at the place called Cloud Tower. Then bar should be on your right. Its looks old and outdated but it has great service. See you there. _

Stupid Helia. Why didn't he just text the address of the place instead of complicated directions. If I had the address then I wouldn't have to analyze Helia's directions. All I would have to do was type in the address into the GPS and then follow its easy instructions. If it said right, I would turn right. If it said left, then I would turn left. Now I had to go searching for some tacky boutique.

After ten minutes of travelling down a crowded street, I spotted a foreboding store. The sign was dark purple capital letters: CLOUD TOWER. I immediately made a right into the less congested road and continued down it, free from all the traffic. However after five minutes of continuous driving down the same road, I began to question if the directions were right. I hadn't seen a bar so far and the number of shops and people around started to decrease. Stupid Helia must have given me faulty directions. I swore that if I didn't see a bar in the minute, I would turn around and call the source of my problems.

Ahead, there was a long dark tunnel that looked oddly misplaced in the middle of a bright compact city. It looked rather suspicious because of the darkness of it plus by now, there wasn't a car or person in sight. It was just the thing that excited the daredevil in me. So I continued on even though the probability of the bar being at the other side was close to nothing. By now, there wasn't an open shop in site. Old empty buildings with dirty windows were the only things in sight.

As I travelled down that tunnel, I anticipated what would be on the other side. Maybe a neighborhood? Maybe a forest? I wondered as I traveled through the tunnel, alone. The lights lining the walls of the tunnels glowed dimly, making it hard to see where I was going. Slowly the number of lights decreased till there was none left and I had to depend on my headlights to see what was on in front of me.

The tunneled ended and the black road became dirt. The first thing I saw when I came out was a bar. The crumbling shack stood right infront of car with a sign in its window saying BAR OPEN. I quickly stomped on the brakes. Around the bar was a forest of tall fern trees. And even though the city was near, the stars and moon shined brightly, unaffected by the city lights that normally were bright enough to erase the stars. It didn't make sense how such a place existed so close by. Heck, it didn't make sense why there was a bar so far away.

I parked my car on the side and entered the outdated bar. The inside of the bar looked nicer than its outside. It was the size of my bathroom meaning that it was tiny. The room was fairly dark, its only source of light coming from the moonlight pouring from the windows and two lanterns at the farthest corners of the room. To my left was a long counter with wooden revolving chairs.

As I took a seat at the bar, I continued to look at the bar to find something that convinced Helia that it was a nice bar, some staggering woman trudged through the door and planted herself right nice to me.

Immediately, she asked the bartender, who just appeared behind the bar, for a drink with a hoarse voice. I took up the chance and asked for the same drink that she was getting. Maybe Helia complimented the place because its drinks were surprisingly one of a kind.

The bartender, who was as old if not older than the bar, looked rather cheery. She immediately served the suspicious drinks. Now I'm usually not picky but I swore that the liquid was bubbling. The woman next to me didn't seem to notice though for she drank the whole thing in one shot. That convinced me to give it a try.

But the minute my tongue touched the concoction, I cringed at its taste.

"Excuse me. What the heck is this. I asked for the best you have not poison," I condescendingly informed the offended bartender.

"Heh. What a wuss. Saying you can drink the hardcore stuff. The lady next to you was completely fine," she snapped back sarcastically. "I guess some people can't appreciate real hardcore alcohol. Poor thing."

What the—. Did she say that I was a wuss? My pride was stung.

"You calling this hardcore? This is nothing." And down it went, leaving a gross bitter and sour aftertaste in my mouth. I wanted to rinse my mouth was water right away but to show up that friggin' old lady, I stayed in my seat and gave her a forced smile.

"See that. That was—"

"Yea. Yea. Good job boy," she rolled with indifference.

"Wait! You have to—"

"Who's a slut?" the lady next to me drawled, looking at me with angry eyes. What? Was I being hit on by a psycho. Not good.

"H-huh?" I replied while scooting backwards, trying to get as far as I can from the woman. However, the woman leaned forward and continued.

"Popular my butt. Who cares if that butt was on his lap?"

"What the heck are you talking about?" She was definitely a mad woman. Women were already a big pain to deal with so why the heck was I being approached by a mental one.

"Was I not enough? I tried my best! I loved him! Loved him. Loved you so much! Why? Why?" Uh-oh. Trouble. The mad woman was starting to become a dangerously emotional, mad woman. I froze when, tears started streaming down her tanned face. Calming down crying women much less emotional women was not my forte. I really wanted to leave. Where the heck was Helia.

"Crying drunks," the granny remarked. Correction: the useless granny. The bartender was not helping the situation one bit.

"Why did this happen? My what-ifs came true. I even wore the stupid dress. Why didn't you just tell me instead of doing it why? Give me peace! Why!" Calm down woman! No matter how much I scooted, the crazy lady made up for the space by inching closer.

"Hey. Calm down," I stuttered. I was starting to become a bit scared and stared to the exit desperately. Then she grabbed my shoulders firmly, as her emerald eyes met mine. She stared deep into my eyes as if she was studying my face.

"Ah...I wasn't good enough. Wasn't good. And yet why do I still. Love. You." And then she...passed out right on my chest. What a night. I let out a long sigh I glanced that passed out woman that was slobbering on my jacket. Disgusting. I really wanted to toss her onto the ground and the bartender must have known because she started to shake her head at me.

And then guess what rang? That's right. My phone. And guess who was on the other line. Yea. Freakin' Helia.

"_Where are you?"_ he asked.

"Funny. Where am I? Where are you? I've been waiting at the bar for at least half an hour already!" I replied, frustrated, tired, and stressed.

"_What are you talking about? I've been here for a long time already. I thought you got lost or something so I called." _Lost? I was getting confused. Helia said he was at the bar but I was there too. And if he was at the bar, then I would have seen him. After all, there weren't many places he could be in such a puny room. I would be blind to miss him.

"What do you mean? I've been here for a long time already too." There was a long pause on the other side of the line. "Uh..Helia?"

"_You are at the wrong bar," he finally answered calmly._

"Wrong bar? How the heck would that happen. I followed you directions word for word. There is no way."

"_Did you turn left on Poca Street?"_

"Yea."

"_Right on Yolanda?"_

"Yea."

"_Right on Sunset?"_

"Yea."

"_Right on CLOUD TOWER?"_

"Yea. I followed your directions." There was a long pause again. "Uh. Helia?"

"Before or after?"

"Huh?" I was starting to feel stupid from all the confusion.

"_Did you turn right before the store or after?"_

"Oh. Before."

"_That's why. You were supposed to turn right after the store."_

"Well you didn't put that on the directions. How was I supposed to know?" I defended myself, rather embarrassed that such a tiny ended up with me being lost. I heard a sigh on the other.  
_"Yea. It was my fault. Lets just go home. I don't feel like waiting for you any longer just to get a drink."_ Heh. Well honestly, I didn't feel like drinking anymore after having random, crazy stranger fainting on you.

"Sound good."

"_Bye."_ And with that, Helia hanged up. I felt relieved at the thought of returning home. As I tried to lift up the girl and put in a chair, the bartender had to just ask the most stupidest question.

"You are not going to just leave her here are you?"

"Of course. What else would I do," I replied with a isn't-it-obvious tone.

"You can't do that! How can you expect an old lady like me to take care of her?" she exclaimed with a shrill pitch.

"Well then just leave her here then," I snapped back, irate.

"Are you out of your mind? I can't do that to such a lovely, young lady!" the bartender's voice rose higher and higher. I really didn't want to have an argument right there and then. What I wanted was to go home and collapse.

"Fine!" I aggressively resigned. "What do _you_ recommend then?"

"You take her," the bartender's wrinkled, crooked finger pointed at my chest before pointing at the source of our problems who was peacefully dozing off her chair, "home."

"Fine." I sullenly gave in and picked up the woman from her seat.

"Now are you happy?" A large, satisfied grinned was on the old woman's wrinkled face.

"For sure! You know what? You don't even have to pay for the drinks? It's on the house!"

"Yea. Whatever," I scoffed. I wasn't going to pay for the poison anyways.

"Have a nice night!" she called out as I exited. It was ironic how she wished me a nice night right after it was ruined. I let out another sigh. Yea, my life was screwed up.

ººº

The next morning began was the door bell ringing. I had a strong resolve to sleep in till noon and ditch reality but that stupid bell ruined everything. At first, it began as a single ring. Then it became a duet. Then a quartet started singing. And before I knew it, a symphony of doorbells awakened my house hold. I swore to kill the composer as I lazily got up and shuffled towards the door.

"What?" I growled when looked the visitor, Helia. Helia's eyes widened with amusement like I was some kind of miraculous discovery.

"I'm sorry. Did interrupt your sleep?" he polited greeted. "I'm afraid I have to business with your partner?"

"Heck yea! You ruined my sleep. Now leave!" I ordered, ignoring everything that following sleep. Oh how I wanted sleep. Helia looked a bit shocked for a second but quickly covered his startled look with a smile.

"I'm sorry. I won't bother you. I just have some business with Riven," he continued with that oh-so-friendly amused smile.

"What the heck are you rambling about? If you haven't noticed, I AM RIVEN."

"Huh?" Helia eyes narrowed in confusion until his face brightened as if he had an epiphany. Hopefully, he finally realized that I wanted him to leave. "Oh. I mean the actual person."

"I AM the actual person," I informed him again with a irritated tone. How many time did I need to tell him that I was myself. Did Helia go blind overnight? Or maybe he was playing some kind of riddle with me? And what the heck was he stupidly smiling about anyways? Did I smell weird? I took a quick whiff of myself. I smelled fine. Wait—. I paused as I realized what I was wearing.

I was wearing a black dress? And what the heck happened to my hands? Did they shrivel up overnight and became long, thin, and soft? I stared at my hands in bewilderment as I slowly backed away from the door and dashed to my room with a full length mirror stood. There I faced the truth.

I didn't want to believe. Maybe it was a nightmare but it was a nightmare, it was a pretty vivid one. There, in the mirror's reflection, stood a woman. She had flowing honey colored hair and tan skin. Instead of my intense violet eyes, deep green ones stared back. When I touched myself, I discovered a pair of round breasts sitting contently right on my chest just as I feared. It wasn't the mirror playing tricks on me like I desperately wished. I looked at the mirror again with horror as I realized the undeniable truth. I had become a woman. And so for the first time in my life, I screamed with a girly, shrill, voice.

* * *

_Heads up dudettes. Each chapter will alternate between Flora's and Riven's POV. The odd chapters will be Flora while the evens will be Riven. Tata for now. Time to eat tacos._

_Renachi_


	3. Discovery

_Disclaimer: I do not own Winx Club...duh. All recognizable characters belong to Straffi. Plot and OCs belong to me. ^^_

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE - DISCOVERY**

My eyes fluttered open as a loud scream echoed in my ear. I paused when I first woke up. _Where am I?_ Moving myself to a sitting position, I slowly took in my surroundings: I was sitting comfortably on an unfamiliar king sized bed in luxurious flat that cost at least a hundred grand. Right away, I could tell from the room's modern architecture that whoever lived here was a big shot. I still had the same question._ Where am I?_

I spotted myself in front of a mirror to the right of the bed. Was seeing myself? Was I experiencing part two of my dream? If I was, then it was extremely vivid for a dream. Dream Flora was stunned at her reflection as she lifted locks of her hair up and studied it like an experiment. Then she studied her trembling hands and then her chest like they were from space.

A hoarse grunt came from the left of my bed as I saw an unprecedented visitor in my dreams, the famous Helia, the lead singer of the The Specialists. The visitor stared at me with eyes full of amusement.

"Riven, I can see that you are rather busy at the moment but we have a group interview in an hour and a half," he said, staring at me with an anticipating expression. Did he call me Riven? Being a male rockstar in my dream was a first.

"You—you," I heard my threatening voice spoke. I was met by emerald eyes, blazing with fury. "What did you do to me? Change me back!"

Oh my. I didn't know that I could be so mean and look so murderous in a dream. I shuddered as I listened to Dream Flora's demand.

A wry smile graced my face. "Don't worry…This is a dream?" I meekly replied and immediately paused in horror as I heard a deep voice come out of my mouth.

"Dream? Are you freaking joking around with me because this," Dream Flora snarled as she pointed to her face, "is not a joking face. It isn't even my _own_ face. I don't know what you did during the night, woman, but you need to change us back, _now_."

My dream was starting to turn into a nightmare as I watched my face display expressions full of anger that I didn't even know were possible. Watching my frightening face made me want to go back underneath the covers and fall asleep, except that I couldn't possibly fall asleep in a dream…right? That idea seemed so tempting that I actually started to pull the covers over me before Dream Flora started yapping again and pulling on the sheets.

"Don't you DARE," she ordered. _Eek! _Things were definitely starting to become scary. What nightmare wouldn't let me wake up? Maybe I had to solve my dream problems before I could wake up? Sure, it was a bizarre solution but I was already having a bizarre dream if you count a nightmare where I have turned into Riven and live in his house—I assumed—get to meet Helia and witness a murderous me from a third-person point of view that wants to attack me bizarre. I carefully picked my next words.

"Now, now," I began. "Let's take a deep breath… Flora. We both know that I have to wake up for this nightmare to end. I don't know why I'm dreaming of myself but—"

"Are you freaking serious? This isn't a fucking dream dammit! Slap yourself! I dare you," she hissed. "You will feel the pain. Trust me, I wish this was a dream."

Now, I was completely lost. I wasn't in a dream? But I was staring at myself plus I was in a house I never saw before plus the one and only Helia who had thousands of fangirls worshipping him was standing over my bed at that very second watching me and Dream Flora with a perplexed expression _plus_, the most obvious reason, I wasn't me. I was Riven. No matter how I looked at it, what Dream Flora was saying was totally preposterous.

"B-But, this is too unreal. This has to be a dream. I mean—I mean, I am Riven and you are…Riven," I slowly explained as realization dawned on me. My eyes grew bigger as I leapt from bed and checked my reflection in a mirror. Sure enough the image of Riven with bed hair and a bare torso stared right back at me while I whimpered, "I am—"

"Yea, yea," he muttered, fed up with my denial. "You are me. I am you. Now switch us back," Riven ordered. I now stared at my body not as Dream Flora but as Riven. It couldn't be a nightmare because every detail was too vivid. And when I pinched my skin, or rather Riven's skin, I felt the sharp pain.

But why was Riven telling me to switch us back? How would I know how to switch us back when I didn't even know how we got that way? I tried to get words out but the task proved too difficult because I was still too shocked to speak at the moment.

"Riven. I think the poor girl doesn't know what's going on any more than you do," Helia explained as if he could read my mind. My frustration subsided as Helia took over the conversation for me.

"Helia? When the heck did you arrive here?" Riven asked with a grim frown still etched on my, now his, face.

"I've been here for the last ten minutes. I came to tell you that our interview was in an hour and a half. Well now it is more like an hour. But I didn't expect this," Helia said as he gestured his hand towards Riven and me.

"Shoot. The interview. Forgot completely about that," Riven muttered under his breath. Helia nodded as he told that he had expected that Riven would forget which earned him a defensive glare from Riven.

"I guess that is the least of our concerns right now though. Right now I'm guessing you two don't even know how to change back?"

We both nodded our heads as I carefully looked at Helia for guidance. As of then, he was the only one would could think clearly with no emotion clouding up his reasoning unlike me. I felt like an ant tossed into an intricate maze, totally lost in unfamiliar surroundings and I assumed that Riven wasn't any different. Riven probably couldn't think logically with the frustration and anger he released in all his yapping.

"Thought so," Helia sighed. Then he turned to me. "Why don't you two recall what you did yesterday night? Maybe it can give us a clue on how you two got this way and how to change back."

"Well," I started, trying to find a way to tell my story without telling that I was…dumped, "I went to a bar last night and took one drink. I don't really remember anything after that."

I looked at Riven for his side of the story but what I was met with was an annoying sympathizing glance. The glance said it all. Riven knew I was dumped and pitied me. Suddenly, I felt uncomfortable with Riven knowing the one thing that I was the most sensitive too at that moment.

"I went to a bar too, but not the right one. You know how I ended up at a different bar right Helia? Well, it was the same bar she went to," Riven said. Riven went to the same bar? I couldn't remember seeing him at the bar and if I saw him, I was pretty sure I would remember cause a regular person wouldn't forget meeting a big time celebrity.

"You were there?" I asked, puzzled.

"Yea. I was the guy next to you. You know. Sunglasses?" Riven slowly replied as he poked at my memory.

When I started to remember that I cried on him like a sad, crying drunk, my cheeks became hot red. The thought I had done such a shameful thing to a total stranger made me want to go back under those white covers. Who knew alcohol had such a strong effect on my mentality. Then an epiphany came to me.

"The beer!" I declared .

"The beer?" both guys repeated with confused expressions.

"What does that bad beer have to with anything?" Riven continued.

"I don't know. I was thinking it could have been a clue. Like maybe the beer did something to us?" I played with my thumbs and mumbled, dejected that my epiphany was easily rejected.

"No wait. Flora may be on to something," Helia said. He curled his index finger under his chin as he went into deep thought. "Who was the bartender?"

"Hah. _Of course_. I was thinking about the same thing too," Riven confidently claimed as if it were the truth. "The bartender? That old hag? Actually if you think about it, she was the cause of all the problems really if you ignored her passing out in the first place." Riven stared of me grudgingly. I wanted to go back under the cover even more.

"She was the one who forced me to take her home. And now that I think about it, that alcohol tasted kind of off. Maybe she put something in it. A witch!"

I chuckled a bit under my breath as I heard Riven say witch enthusiastically.

"W-what?" Riven whispered, obviously uncomfortable at being laughed at.

"No. Just didn't think you believed in witches." I grinned as I glanced at Riven scowling.

"Well that _thing_—whatever it was—tasted really bad. And since we switched bodies, anything is possible."

"It was that bad?" I narrowed my eyes as I recalled the night before. "I didn't think it wasn't that bad. It was bitter, tangy, and sour but isn't beer usually like that?"

"Of course not! Haven't you ever went for a drink before?" Riven questioned. I shook my head.

"No," I shyly said. "That was my first time." More looks of wonder came.

"Wow. It was your first time and you didn't even drink the right thing," Helia whistled. Then the corners of his lips curved into a smile. "Well, you both better go find that bartender if you to have the smallest chance to change back. I'll go do something about the interview so why don't you two go right now?"

"Of course. The faster I can get out of this body, the better it is. We are taking my car," Riven said and grabbed his keys from the bedside. I silently muttered that those were my lines. Even though many would think that being able to live a rockstar's life would be a rollercoaster ride, I thought it was troublesome. I never wanted to be famous or be loved by millions of fan girls across the globe. I just wanted to be normal Flora and stay in peace. I sighed with resignation as I threw on a shirt and jacket that was lying by the foot of the bed.

"Ok. Lets go."

ººº

When we got to the tunnel, we were met with a big rejecting sign. ROAD CLOSED, is what was written on the big red sign. It stared at us as if it, enjoyed watching our hopeless expressions. There was a large clang and when I looked up, I saw Riven getting out of the car.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to go take a look inside the tunnel," he spoke in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"But, the road is closed," I protested. Riven wasn't really going to go against the sign was he?

"So?" he replied defensively. "Do you want to freaking change back or not? This is the only lead we have and I'm not about to give it up without even trying. You don't have to come, but I'm going."

With that, he slammed the door shut. Well, Riven did have a good reason but getting caught was still pretty frightening. I watched his back as he fearlessly entered the tunnel before I swung up the door and followed after him.

"Wait! I'm coming too!" I called as I ran after him. After all, getting stuck in his body forever was way worse than getting caught and telling the police that we needed to enter the tunnel wouldn't be smart either. If the policed asked why, we couldn't very well say, "We switched bodies overnight and our only clue to switching back is a bar on the other side of the tunnel." Oh, how they would laugh.

"What? Realized how scared you felt alone back there?" he deadpanned when I caught up to his side. I frowned. Scared?

"If you mean lonely, then no. I just realized how much I didn't want to stay in this body," I explained as I watched his face become emotionless again.

"Don't worry. I don't want to stay in your body either," Riven replied with a hint of defensiveness as he continued walking straightforward. I was lost for words after that and just kept quiet. Comfortable silence settled between us we kept watching through the dim tunnel. I took that time to take a good look at Riven in my body.

"What? Is there something weird on me?" he asked. I quickly looked away, embarrassed that I was caught looking at him till I realized that technically I wasn't looking at _him_. I was looking at myself. With that thought, I relaxed and replied.

"No. I was just looking at myself," I began slowly with eyes that looked like they were staring far away, daydreaming eyes. "I always see myself in the mirror but I always wondered how I looked from the world's eyes because mirrors are deceiving. I never would have thought I would one day get the chance."

"So how do you look?" I thought about that for a second and studied Riven. I watched as he stiffened up from my intensive glared and diverted his eyes. The thought that the rockstar Riven had an awkward, shy side made me grin.

"Well, I found out that I look really messy. For one, my hair is a bird's nest. I looked shorter than I thought I was, especially since you are wearing slippers when that dress was made specifically to only be worn with high heels. My eyeliner is smudged. My mascara is runny from," I paused. I was going to say that my mascara was runny from all the crying I did last night but then I realized why I was crying again. I had forgotten about Roy for a short time in the midst of all the confusion with body switching and waking up in a stranger's bed. The bad memories flooded back like a wave and I immediately wished that I hadn't even started the conversation so that I could have forgotten the fact that I was cheated on by the love of my life.

Riven must have realized what I meant by my runny mascara too because he became even more solemn and quiet. I silently thanked him for not continuing the conversation. For the rest of the trip, we walked without talking.

The silence was comforting rather than awkward and I found a little peace by walking by his side even though all I could think about was Roy. Roy. Why did Roy cheat on me? What was Roy doing right at that moment? Did Roy know that I knew that he cheated? If he didn't know would he keep dating me with the intention of two-timing?

I thought so deeply that by the time we reached the end of the tunnel, I hadn't even noticed. Riven had to alert me. When I looked at what was in front of me, instead of the opening of the tunnel, there was just piles and piles of boulders, stocks, and clay.

"Are you serious?" I muttered in disbelief and rubbed my eyes, hoping that my eyes were fooling me. "It was just open last night!"

"Well, last night there wasn't a freaking ROAD CLOSED sign either," Riven pointed out. He seemed oddly calm. I thought that he would be the most disappointed since he was the most desperate to change back. I had expected him to launch himself into a parade of curses but instead he stayed silent, unemotional.

"Why don't you seem surprise?" I asked.

"I had a feeling that something like this would happen when I saw that sign," he sighed. "But I had hoped that the other side of the tunnel would be open even if the chance of that happening was small." There was awkward silence for a few seconds as I awaited him to continue but of course, he didn't.

"So…now what?" I felt like a lost pup and was confused at what to do now. We lost our only lead and made a trip all for nothing so honestly speaking, I felt pretty dumb. "Are we supposed to stay this way?"

"Well there is nothing else we can do can we?" Riven snapped. I flinched as his sudden rudeness. I had gotten too used to his blank demeanor during the walk and quickly reminded myself not to forget that he could have attacked me back at the house. Then I thought carefully on what to say next.

"For now we have to live like each other since there is nothing we can do. Why don't we exchange contact information. I'll tell you a bit about me so you know how I live and you tell me about you," I proposed calmly, careful not to tick him off. Riven mumbled something inaudible.

"What?"

"Ok, here. Give me your phone so I can add my number," he help out his cellphone and I shyly took it before carefully studying his expression because I wasn't sure if he anything planned behind my back to take advantage of me.

"Take it. I am not planning on running away after giving you a false number. If I did that then I would be at a disadvantage because I wouldn't be able to get back into my body," he slowly explained with an unemotional tone. I immediately felt guilt and embarrassed that I didn't realized that fact and took his phone to enter my contact information. Then we handed back our phones.

"Do you want to go first or—"

"Go," he demanded.

"Ok. Well, I was born on March 1….not like that matters." I nervously laughed as I tried to think of what to tell about myself. "Umm…I live in an apartment with my roommate called Musa. You will have to live with her for the meantime but don't worry, she's a sweetie. Ummm…I work at a flower shop called Gardenia as a florist everyday except for Tuesdays and Saturdays. It is on Marigold Avenue and it's pretty big so you shouldn't miss it," I rambled before I quietly added, "I guess since you don't really know much about flower arrangement, I'll call in and say I'm sick for the meantime." _It shouldn't be hard to convince Mirta that I have a really bad illness through the phone since I have a low voice now, _I quietly added.

"I think that is all I have to say for now. How about you?" Riven sighed.

"Well I was born on October 15, _not like that_ _matters_," he sarcastically began with a smirk. Jerk. "You already know where I live. You already know my job. Helia will take care of whole job work thing. Ok. That's it!"

"What?" I whined. "That can't be it."

"No. That's it unless you really don't know what I do for a living," he said with raised eyebrows.

"Of course I do! You're the drummer for The Specialists. You are popular within your group for your multiple drum solos and versatility with the guitar and keyboard which has been seen on a special occasion during concerts. Your image is the rebellious bad boy who is actually a softie in the inside."

"Oh," he whistled. "You know me well. I didn't know you were such a fan though I don't recall the last line ever being my image." I became offended that he would think I was a fan.

"I am definitely _not_ a fan. Musa is one though. And for your information, the last one is the type of character you are often portrayed as in a lot of _fanfictions_. You know what happens when you give imaginative fangirls a laptop: They type away their fantasies and post it on the internet. Yours are actually pretty popular next Brandon's."

"What? I'm losing to Brandon?" Riven asked with a shocked voice. I grinned confidently.

"Of course. But don't worry. You are not behind by a lot. Last time Musa checked and told me, you had around four thousand and Brandon was almost around five thousand. Personally, I like Helia's fictions more," I assured him with a hint of mock in my voice.

"Whatever," Riven huffed. "Well, it looks like you know everything there is about me from my musical talent to the number of fan written stories there are about me online. I guess there is nothing left for me to say."

"But…But certainly there must be something else I need to know to live as you," I pressed, determined to get him to tell me something worthwhile about himself. "Like your _real_ hair color."

"My hair is naturally dark brown. There. Happy?" he replied, obviously annoyed by my pestering. _He must be still angry that he lost to Brandon,_ I silently giggled.

"Brown huh? I wonder how long it will take for this magenta dye to fade," I mused out loud.

"Don't worry. The dye will stay for some time. At least until I get back into my body. Anyways, let's go to your apartment for now so I know where I can sleep till this whole mess is fixed." I complied and nodded.

"But I am driving," I decided.

"No. I am driving."

"But, you don't know the way."

"You can tell me the way." I rolled my eyes at his stubbornness.

"Says the person who couldn't follow directions. Remember last night sweetie? You got lost right? That's why you ended up at a different bar," I pointed out with an innocent grin. Riven scowled at my words.

"That happened because Helia's—"

"So I will drive, yes?"

"Fine." Riven pursed his lips. "You better not hurt my Angelina."

ººº

I carefully watched the eggs and set the heat on low before I went back to the cutting board to chop the onion. Riven watched with boredom as I took the onion out of the cold water and diced it without shedding a tear.

Why was I cooking?

Basically I had almost forgotten about Musa and my breakfast tradition so I had to hurry into the kitchen to cook in hyperfast super mode. Luckily there were store bought blueberry muffins and scones in the pantry so all I had to worry about was the eggs, rice, curry, and tea. Usually I cooked the whole meal from scratch but being pressed for time because I had no idea when Musa would wake up and see me, who was currently in Riven's body, cooking.

"So you know the trick to stop crying when cutting onions," Riven commented nonchalantly so I continued to watch.

"I learned the trick from my mom," I slowly replied.

"What kind of breakfast has curry in it though?" Riven asked with confusion and disgust. Mr. Judgemental crossed his arms as he leaned against the counter and gazed at the pan coolly.

"A really awesome one," I proudly answered. Well, technically the only reasoned why I cooked the curry was that it was my signature dish and Musa's favorite. Well then again, Musa liked anything that was spicy. "You should try it. The curry is actually—"

"Your eggs are done."

"Oh! Thanks." I swiftly put down the knife as hurried towards the stove to turn the heat off. Then after I removed the golden brown egg, I carried a stock pot to the stove and heated up the oil with the onions. When I turned around, Riven was standing by the cutting board…chopping carrots? I gaped as I watched.

"You can cook?" I declared as a surprised expression graced my face.

"Of course!" he exclaimed. "I can do anything." Riven looked up and gave me a cocky grin as he handed me the bowl with carrots and peas. I faked a weak laugh as I quietly took note that his self esteem was alive, healthy, and fat. I continued to sauté the onions till they were translucent and then added the potatoes. As the curry boiled, I tried to talk to Riven.

"So how did you learn cooking? I mean, I wouldn't think that you could cook. Imagining you in an apron doesn't really match up with your bad boy image," I explained.

"Who said bad boys couldn't cook?" Riven cocked one eyebrow up. "I had to cook for myself a lot when I was young." Well, that wasn't as much information as I hoped. Didn't everyone cook for themselves when they were young?

"Why?" I tentatively probed. Riven's smirk disappeared as he adopted a solemn expression as if he were at a funeral. He stayed silence for a while and his eyes went blank as if he were zoning out. "You don't have to answer if—"

"My mother abandoned me when I was young and then I was adopted by this old man who couldn't even get up to take care of himself. I don't know why he adopted me but it was probably because he needed someone to take care of the house. Either way, I ended up learning how to cook, clean, and repair any broken items in that dingy house of his. Eventually I started doing his taxes too," Riven quietly told me. I quieted down when I heard about his mother. When I glanced at him, he looked hurt with his jaw clenched and stern eyes. I immediately had the urge to cheer him up.

"You cut carrots well," I nervously whispered. I silently sighed when I saw a cocky grin on his face.

"Anything else?" he eagerly asked like an innocent, curious toddler. "I also can play sports well, dress well, and plus I'm smart. No wonder girls go crazy over me." I rolled my eyes. Oh how I regretted complimenting him so he would cheer up. I cheered him up all right but now his arrogance was running wild like an unbroken mare.

"Yes. The world loves you. Sheesh. Please calm that ego of yours sweetie."

"My ego? Hah! You should see Brandon's?" Riven scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Anyways this the last dish. After this, I just have to add the Fri-chik gravy, vegetables, Fri-chick, and the curry power and it will be— (1)"

"Flora? Is that you?" Musa's voice called down the hallway. My eyes widened as I frantically looked for a place to hide. Riven looked at me with a lost face giving away the fact that he didn't know what to do as much as I did.

Behind the curtains? No, the curtains weren't long enough to cover my feet.

Under the table? Well, that wouldn't hide me at all.

I broke out in sweat when suddenly, a hand pushed me into the pantry and I collapse on the cold floor. The door shut with a bang as I tried to adjust myself in the dark room after Riven aggressively shoved me. _He could have been a bit gentler, _I thought as I rubbed my sore bum.

"_What was that?" _Musa's voice asked with a curious tone.

"_What? O-Oh. I was just getting something from the pantry, that's all," _Riven quickly answered. My heartbeat was so loud and erratic that I feared that Musa could hear it pass the door and Riven.

"_Was someone in here just now. I swore that I heard a guy's voice. Was it Roy?" _Musa teased lightly. "_Is that why you didn't come home last night?"_

"_Voice? Roy? I think someone is hearing things? I just had stuff to do last night so I came back late. And of course there is no one here. It is just me, myself, and I," _Riven said. I cringed at hearing Riven say such a cheesy line like "me, myself, and I". He obviously didn't know how to act like me yet or maybe he wasn't acting at all and often said cliché lines that people would groan over. I hoped he could be more believable but I guess it was to be expected since we just met a few hours before. Well, technically it was the night before but I hadn't known who he was at that time.

"_Stuff huh? But I swore I heard someone else in here." _My breathing became erratic as I prayed that I wouldn't be found out.

I had no confidence to face Musa as Riven. Since she was a big fan of him, I wasn't sure how to act. On one hand, I would want to pour out my whole story to her and confide in but then Riven would be against it. On the other hand, I could treat her like a stranger and run away which would leave her dejected from being rejected by her idol. No, no. That wasn't good either. Maybe I could be nice? But she would ask why I was in the pantry. What would I say? How would I even explain why I was in the apartment without giving away that Riven and I switched? _Ahhhhh!_ I gave up trying to think of what to do and kept praying that Musa would leave.

"_Like I said, it was just your imagination. Why don't you go wash up and then come out to eat?" _Riven offered with an overly sweet voice. He was definitely overacting. Musa probably was wondering what was wrong with me. _Sorry Musa for deceiving you._

"_Ok. I'll do that then. The curry smells like heaven," _she said with a bounce in her voice. I heard her footsteps growing softer and softer and then a soft click. After a few seconds of seconds, Riven whispered to come out. I carefully, pushed the door open a crack and looked around making sure she was gone before poking my head out.

"We have to get you out of here, _now_," he whispered and pulled me out of the pantry and started dragging me towards the exit.

"Wait! Remember, for the curry, just add the rest of the ingredients and boil. Oh, and treat Musa well. If you do anything funny towards her, then I'll go sell your car off. And don't do anything funny and please try to talk like me more naturally. And—"

"Bye." And he shoved me out the door. I glanced back as the door slammed shut. I bit my lower lip in frustration as I quickly headed downstairs towards my car. I couldn't resist taking a quick look back at my apartment. I was going to miss Musa, my home, my friends, and my job. As I entered my car and turned the ignition on, I caught my reflection in the rearview mirror. A masculine face with violet eyes and a chiseled jaw stared back. I sighed. I was going to miss my body too.

* * *

_(1) It's a real recipe! It's a Japanese vegetarian curry._

_Renachi_


	4. Roses Are Red

_Disclaimer: Dun. Dun. Dun. Dah! I would like to proclaim that I do not own the characters in this story. But be warned that the plot and original characters are MINE. Have a nice read. :)_

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR – ROSES ARE RED**

"Did someone just leave?" That woman was starting to get annoying with all her annoying questions. Musa appeared in the hallway with bed hair, a loose red t-shirt, light gray sweat pants, and fuzzy brown bear slippers with the name Pepe sewed to the front.

"Hah. No. I mean, of course not silly. I just thought someone rang the doorbell but I probably heard wrong cause there was no one outside," I faked a gross ditzy voice. I surprised myself by how good I was at acting. I sounded exactly like that poor, love-sick girl. Well, at least I thought, I did.

"Are you sick? Do you have a fever?" Musa asked, giving me dubious stares. Maybe I overdid the girly act?

"No, I'm fine," I defensively replied. "I'm probably just tired. Last night was…ummm…tiring?"

"Oh my gosh," she exclaimed as he eyes lit up with excitement. "Something happened last night with Roy right? What happened?"

"Nothing happened," I stressed. Why was this girl so damn persistent? If I didn't have to keep up the roommate act, I would have already clawed her out of the apartment.

"Something must have happened. You didn't come home till this morning." Musa studied me from head to toe. "Well you can tell me later. You probably want to clean up, right? I'm guessing you had too much fun last night. Your makeup and hair are a mess. Why don't you wash up and eat?" I willingly grabbed the opportunity to escape and end the act.

"Hehehe," I imitated Flora's fake timid laugh. "I'll go do that."

ººº

Here I was staring a pile of flowers and wrapping paper. I was supposed to arrange the flowers but I didn't even know where to start. I don't know how I ended up at this scenario. I had been on a nice walk, and somehow I ended up finding Flora's shop and being put to work by punk-rock-lover-looking co-worker, Mirta.

I did know where to start with the flowers. Should I begin with the tulips or those puffy little yellow things? Mirta didn't say much to help me begin.

"Here are the cards. Just match the occasion up and do the usual," she said. Mirta was _very_ helpfuls. I was tempted to ask Mirta for help but seeing how much trust she had in me, I couldn't ask. Then I debated about whether to call Flora for help but I immediately threw that idea out.

_Hah._

That woman would probably laugh and rejoice at my helplessness in front of a pile of measly flowers. A woman who was capable of threatening me with crashing my motorbike was capable of doing anything. She definitely was evil. Anyone who would hurt precious Bella was my enemy.

So here I was back to square one.

_Ding. Ding. Ding._

"Hello. Are you here to pick up something or order?" I could hear Mirta ask with a customer friendly voice.

"Ahem. No. Um...I'm just here to look around," a familiar hoarse voice replied. I looked over from the back room and saw a man lowering his head down into his high collared jacket. I could immediately recognize my body because of my physique and a hint of magenta hair sticking out under the cap.

Flora must have spotted me too because her eyes came up and met mine. "Ri-F-Flora! What a coincidence. Do you mind if I go to the back room to see Flora and some flowers, Mirta?"

Mirta blinked in daze, giving her red hair a ruffle. "Um..ok? How do you know my name though?" That was when I realized that she had put on her jacket and that her nametag was hidden from view. _Stupid, _I grunted under my breath.

"Oh. Um..," Flora hummed. "I am Flora's friend and I've heard her describe you before. She said lots of good things about you like how you are a good friend."

"I see. That's why," Mirta chirped, happy that a friend was talking good things about her. She subtly turned around and mouthed thank you with a cheerful smile. I gave a weak smile in return. Living as Flora wasn't getting any less awkward so far.

Flora scurried over to the backroom before she lifted her head from her high collared jacket.

"Why are you here?" I asked, not able to hold make the distasteful tone in my voice. Flora easily ignored my rude tone and answered.

"I wanted to see some flowers. Why are you're here?"

"Cause my_ good_ friend, who I told you all about, put me to work with arranging these flowers to match these cards the minute I walked in because I was curious," I replied, my voice thick with sarcasm. I motioned to the piles of vegetation arranged neatly on the table in front of me. Flora looked at the flowers then me and then the flowers and then back to me again.

"Do you need help?" she timidly asked. I scoffed.

"Help with arranging flowers? You must be kidding. Anyone can arrange flowers. It is the easiest thing on earth."

"Then why haven't you started much less finish one bouquet yet?" she asked, looking as untrusting as ever. She reached over and grabbed a bunch of sunflowers. "Let me help. The first card is for a sick friend in the hospital so let's hope some sunflowers will brighten his friend's day up."

Flora kept on talking a bunch of floral talk and taught me what certain colors meant. For instance, yellow roses meant friendship and orange roses expressed desire and passion. And of course she told me that the red roses that people so often gave to their lovers represented unyielding true love, which I knew of course. I prided myself with at least knowing that obvious fact.

"So what's your favorite rose then?" I curiously asked as I glanced at her finished bouquets.

"Hm. Maybe the lilac rose?" she replied as she stopped working and thought for a moment. She reached over the table and delicately held the rose by the stem, careful not to pierce her skin with its prickly thorns. "It is purple."

"What does it mean?"

"Love at first sight," she dreamily answered as she placed the rose back in its pile.

"So that's your favorite flower?" I raised my eyebrows and crossed my arms across my chest.

"Oh no. My favorite flower isn't even a rose," she quickly corrected as she waved her hands in front of her.

"Then, what is it?" I asked as scanned my eyes across the rows of flowers on the table, wondering which flowers are more gorgeous and the best-looking.

"It isn't on this table," she said with a bounce and giggle in her voice. "My favorite flower is the cherry blossom." Her face looked peaceful and pensive as if she were recalling a fond memory from her past.

"You mean those pink trees in Japan?"

"Yea. There are some here in this country too. My mom took me to a park with blooming cherry blossoms during the spring while I was little. It was beautiful," she whispered as her fanciful eyes looked like they were looking past the wall, buildings, city, and mountains to a place far from here. Her gentle face calmed my soul and I involuntarily found myself smiling. I quickly woke up from whatever trance she had casted on me when I became self aware.

"I have never seen any cherry blossom trees around here," I cleverly pointed out. Her laugh rang like tiny bells—wait! Bells? That was my low voice that was ringing like bells. And that was _my _gentle face that calming my soul. What the heck was going wrong with me? Was my body that enchanting? I had to start being careful around Flora or else I might end up falling in love with my own face and become a narcissist. Scary.

"Of course. Those trees aren't that common around here. Only certain places in this country have them," Flora explained. All of a sudden her face brightened and she quickly checked the clock. "Wow. It is already past nine. We must have spent five hours back here. Why didn't Mirta tell us?" She gave another girly pout with that unmatched masculine face.

"Ugh. I have to go back to that apartment?" I whined as I walked to the front of the store.

"I have to go back your house," Flora pointed out.

"For you that's an upgrade like you are living at a hotel. For me that's a downgrade," I argued as I opened and held the door open for Flora.

She walked through it awkwardly. Oh yea, I was supposed to be the girl, and the girl holding the door open for the guy was wrong. Oh whatever.

"True." She immediately hid her face inside her jacket just in case anyone could recognize her. "See you. Keep your promise, and don't anything to my body. Be nice to Musa for me, please."

"Same back at you. You better not do anything funny to my body."

* * *

_So...not much plot development or drama in this chapter, just FXR fluff. I'm sure I have little and big mistakes here and there but I just can't catch them...so...I'm thinking of getting a beta. If anyone knows a good beta that could give me critique and point out the errors I have here and there, tell me. Thanks. And reviews are good. :)_

_Renachi_


	5. One Step Closer

_Disclaimer: Once again I do not own Winx Club. Straffi does. OCs are rightfully mine though._

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE - ONE STEP CLOSER**

A day has passed since I switched bodies with Riven. Riven was probably having a jolly good time with nothing to do since I requested for leave from work while I had to figure out how to be a rockstar imposter during a short amount of time. Me…as a rockstar? The whole concept still seemed as impossible as flying pigs. How I was going to pretend to be a cocky and unpleasant guy was beyond me. On the other hand, Brandon and Timmy started to brainstorm reasons on how I woke up in Riven's body after they got over their denial of me living in Riven's body.

I was rather skeptical about telling them about the secret at first but Helia managed to convince me that to continue living as Riven for the time being, it was necessary to tell them. He also added that Brandon and Timmy were trustworthy and I had nothing to worry about. Surprisingly, they actually believed my unbelievable confession after a half an hour of explaining. Most of the credit went to Helia because he made a whole persuasive speech that convinced the two guys on how Riven couldn't act as feminine as I was at that moment. Thank god Helia was there to support me. I was in debt to him greatly.

"Any logical explanation for this Einstein?" Brandon comically asked about the reason for the sudden body switch.

Timmy closed and narrowed his eyes vigorously, massaging his temples. "Think. Think. Think," he repeated over and over stressing each word more and more like Jimmy Neutron before his eyelids fluttered back open. "Sorry. I got nothing."

"Thought so," Brandon said as he thought some more with his elbow propped on his knee as he sat down on the couch in Riven's house. "Maybe you two will switch back if you guys gave each other a big kiss?"

"K-k-k-Kiss?" I stammered.

"A kiss is when your lips—" Timmy began.

"I know what it is," I informed, compelled to correct Timmy's embarrassing misunderstanding. Drawing in a deep breath, I continued, curling my lips down into a grimace, "But why? How would that change us back?"

"I don't know. A kiss is what breaks the spell right? It worked in Sleeping Beauty and Snow White," Brandon reasoned. Brandon reclined against my couch lazily as he continued his musings.

"Maybe you guys have to fall in love or something. Worked in the Beauty and the Beast," Helia joked. "Hah. Works perfectly. Riven is the beast and you are the beauty." Seriously, were these guys seriously trying to help or were they just fooling around?

" I don't think so," I bitterly muttered, sighing and plopping myself down into a plush chair.

"Just trying to help...So…Riven is stuck in a woman's body. Is your body beautiful Flora?" Brandon boldly asked earning him a heated blush from me.

"I'm ok," I said, unsure of my own response as I tried to give the most truthful yet modest reply.

"Well, of course. She's beautiful." A dreamy smile graced Helia's face as he said those two embarrassing words that made me want to curl up and hide my red face. Truthfully, there wasn't much to be embarrassed about but when Brandon's teasing went hand in hand with Helia casually saying, "She's beautiful" with that silky voice of his, it was hard to stay composed. Ok, I confess. I wasn't a fan of The Specialists as a whole but I did that a slight crush on Helia.

Brandon grinned after watching my reaction. "Then Riven's one lucky guy."

"Um," I nervously staggered with my words as I tried to change the topic. "What are we going to do then till things return back to normal?"

"I think that all we can do for now is help you and Riven try to live as each other in the meantime, right?" Timmy peeped shyly. Me as Riven? That image didn't work out too well in my head. I couldn't even imagine myself looking at the world through his eyes yet here I was, not only looking at the world through his violet eyes but also living in the world in his body.

"That's probably good. What instruments can you play?" Helia asked. Luckily, I had some musical talent. I silently thanked my mother for being a really good piano teacher who constantly disciplined to me practice while I was young .

"Um…piano?" I timidly answered, twiddling my thumbs nervously. I felt like I was being rated from one to ten as the three guys stared at me like they were judges.

"Piano will be handy. I don't suppose that you've touched the drums before," Brandon replied. I coyly shook my head, feeling like a big annoyance and burden on the band because of my lack of musical talent. "Timmy, maybe she can take over the piano temporarily and then you try out the drums?"

"Th-The drums? Me on the drums would be a miracle!" Timmy screeched in reply as he pointed at himself in denial. "You've seen me try and fail at the drums."

"This isn't good. We can cancel all the smaller but we have a big Christmas Eve concert coming up in three months and we definitely can't cancel that. The already released tickets for that one concert can't be refunded. If Flora and Riven stay switched for that long, there will be a problem," Brandon solemnly explained. Helia bit his lower lips in thought and frustration, crossing his arms solemnly across his chest.

"Um," Timmy hesitantly piped up. "Maybe we Riven in Flora's body could be a guest drummer and then Flora could work the piano?"

"Timmy, we can't take you out unless we want to see Timmy Replaced? at the top of _Starlet News_," Brandon rationally explained as he ruffled his dark hair.

"You guys are making this way too complicated. Timmy can pick up the guitar." Helia heaved an exasperate sigh. "That would be good right? We've done that many times before with pieces where there is no keyboard part. For Flora we'll just add in the piano part. Then Riven can be on the drums. Of course we would have to dress Riven up a bit so that no one can recognize that a girl is at the drums, but other than the speculations on who is the mystery drummer, it should be fine. We'll just have to practice getting used to the music and instrument change." There was silence as we all pondered this novel proposal.

"That sounds perfect!" Brandon concluded before looking to me for approval. "What do you think?" I nodded enthusiastically, happy that a resolution was reached even though I secretly hoped that the plan would never be put into action. I didn't want to perform much less stay in Riven's body for three whole months. Performing to an ocean of people staring at me with high expectations made me feel like a spineless jellyfish. "Perfect! Then we can—"

My ringtone started to loudly play. I was about to reach into my pocket and flip my phone out till Helia spoke. "Oh. That's mine," Helia said as he excused himself and flipped open his cell. Oh…So we had the same ringtone. Helia chattered on his phone while we all silently stared at him.

"Grandfather? …Yes... Visitor?… Oooh…Faragonda? Ok. I got it. I'll be there in half an hour. Yes. Bye," Helia ended his call laconically.

"You have to go?" I asked with a slight desperation in my tone. Truthfully, I felt more comfortable with him with me because I had only met Brandon and Timmy recently and because he was helpful with explaining my situation. I admired how he genuinely tried to help me when he didn't have to but I reasoned that it was probably because his band was affected and that Riven was entangled in the whole mess.

"Yea. My grandfather is calling me back home to meet a visitor," Helia explained as he grabbed the jacket he had discarded on the couch previously when he entered the house. "An important visitor."

"Faragonda? He needs to propose already," Brandon disclosed, raising his eyebrows up with a Cheshire Cat grin. "Enough with his belief on waiting for his destined soulmate. Faragonda is definitely his soulmate. He just won't let himself realize it."

"Maybe he is scared of rejection?" Timmy said, a tinge of blush lighting his cheeks up. Timmy obviously was the type who got embarrassed easily from romantic talk. He definitely lived up to the he sheltered domestic cat image advertised.

"Scared or not, he needs to confess. He is seventy-seven for heaven's sake!" Brandon exclaimed. Helia nodded in agreement and let out an all-knowing sigh.

"I've tried to tell him but what can I say? He is rather dense," Helia said with a jaded sigh. The same ringtone went off blaring again. "Who's calling me this time?"

"Oh, I think it is my phone," I piped up as I checked the caller ID. "Riven?" When I answered the call, Riven greeted me with an overly riled up voice.

_"I found her, the bartender!" he declared victoriously. He found her? Immediately, my face burst out with a large grin before darkening with a skeptical expression._

"Really? With her puffy white hair and spectacles and everything? That old woman?" I asked, hopeful.

_"Of course. I'm not blind," Riven sarcastically confirmed. My grin grew into a wide mouth smile and squeals. We found her! We found her! We could change back. I was relieved, excited, and full with anticipation while thanking the fates for the turn of events because honestly speaking, spending another day in his body seemed torturous. In my excitement, I ignored all the disturbed glares I got from the guys who weren't used to seeing Riven squeal like a girl because it was the last time they were going to see it._

"Where is she? I'll come over immediately." There was an odd silence on the other side of the phone and I started wondering what happened. Then I heard my weak, guilty speak again.

_"Well, about that, I kind of lost track of her. I saw her come into this neighborhood. I'm near Helia's grandfather house," he hesitantly disclosed._

"You what?" I paused in shock. I knew it was too good to be true. Riven got my hopes up just to crush them. Of course, he would.

_"But she is definitely somewhere in this neighborhood," he defensively said.__ "I saw her car come into this street. I just don't know which house she went into because I forgot how her car looked like exactly." _

"What happened?" Brandon curiously asked, blinking twice and giving me a confused stare.

"Riven saw the bartender to might have given us the thing that caused this whole problem. Actually, supposedly, he is actually near to your grandfather's house, Helia," I explained to the group of guys as I delicately pulled the phone away from my ear.

_"You are with Helia right now?"_

"Yea. I'm with the whole band right now. They know about the whole situation."

_"Oh great," he groaned.__"More people to laugh at me. Thanks for the humiliation. Anyways, I might need Helia. Tell him I'm at on his grandfather's street. You come too."_

"He says that he is waiting for you by your grandfather's house and needs you desperately Helia," I said with a mischievous smirk.

_"Desperately? What the—"_

"My poor Riven needs me!" Helia proudly declared as he went along with the joke with a wink. "Tell him I'll be there soon and to wait patiently."

"Helia says he'll be there. Bye," I briefly spoke before hanging up, not giving Riven a chance to complain or retort. I giggled silently when I imagined what his expression was from by teased. Sorry Riven but I had to get a little revenge because you crushed my hopes.

Timmy had stayed quiet and contemplative like Sherlock while I was on the phone. "Maybe I'm over thinking to me but doesn't those two characteristics, puffy white hair and spectacles, match Faragonda completely?" he proposed.

"Faragonda? I have hard time believing that she would be the bartender that switched those two," Brandon skeptically said. I had a hard time believing that too. I had never met this Faragonda character before but she sounded like a nice woman who definitely didn't go around switching people's bodies with an uneventful attitude. Helia dismissed what Timmy said as well and then said farewell to Brandon and Timmy. I did the same before following Helia into his car so I could resolve this big problem of mine and so that Helia could go meet his grandfather's crush.

ººº

Riven was waiting right by Mr. Saladin's, whose name I learned in the car from Helia, house and was tapping his foot impatiently with his arms crossed. The house was ginormous. It looked like a five-star hotel with its long windows and its beautiful, alluring, entrancing garden which I supposed was their front yard. I previously didn't know that Helia family was rich but I did know that he came from a very well off family. "Well off" was obviously an understatement_. Their mansion had two stories with a lot of vegetation surrounding it such as the towering trees lining the sloping driveway looking as if they were giants staring down at me. Through the windows, I could spot an expensive crystal chandelier hanging in front of carpeted stairway._

The neighborhood was filled with matching large expensive-looking houses that overshadowed my puny, pathetic, little salary. I stared in wonder while the two guys met up. "Took you guys long enough," Riven greeted. "Let's go searching. I'll remember her car when I see it."

"You'll have to wait a bit more. I need to at least drop by Saladin's house first to greet Faragonda and him since he asked me to drop by and say hi. Why don't you two come in? Grandfather would be pleased to see you again Riven or meet you since you are technically Flora right now," Helia explained he walked towards the tall entrance door.

"That lady is over?" Riven asked, disappointment lining his voice as he trudged up the stone pathway with a slouch.

"You've met her before too?" I whispered to Riven.

"No. The only people who have met her in our group is Timmy but I've heard lots of stories about her and have seen enough pictures of her from Saladin that I basically know the woman already," he explained.

Helia's hand dug around in his pocket for a moment or two become coming out with a silver key. As he inserted the key in, the heavy double doors that looked like it took at least four men to open it creaked ajar with a raspy groan.

"Grandfather?" Helia called out as he entered the mansion.

A jolly, benevolent voice replied. "Helia!" A small old man appeared from the room to the right. "You are here. How nice of you to drop by and say hi. Faragonda! Helia is here and—oh—Riven is here as well. Who is this fine young lady?"

"Helia? It is nice to see you again," a melodious voice sang from the room over. I watched as a woman entered and widened my eyes in surprise when I saw her face. My heart paused for a second as I caught a glimpse of her wrinkly face coming into view in slow motion. It couldn't be her. I tried to list reasons on why I was wrong: maybe I was going blind, maybe I was too drunk that night and recalled her face wrongly, or maybe she was just a look-a-like. "Oh and who are your friends?"

But, I knew I couldn't deceive myself anymore. She was the bartender.

* * *

_This was a pretty short chapter with references to cartoons. What can I say? I love my Disney._

_As always, reviews and constructive critique are welcomed._


	6. Do You Believe In Magic?

_Disclaimer: And once again, the story is mine. The characters except the OCs are Straffi._

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX – DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?**

Standing right before my eyes was the woman I had seen earlier who led me on a wild goose chase, who ignored me when I kept calling out to her to stop while she drove away, and who caused my misery. "You're here? You _rogue! _Switch us back _now_," I hissed with my demand as I glared at that woman sternly. Faragonda jumped in fright like she'd seen a ghost at my loud voice and put a hand over her heart as if she had a heart attack.

"What is wrong with you?" Helia looked at me for confirmation then at Flora then at Faragonda, then back at me again. "You don't mean…"

"Yes. It's her." I continued to stare accusingly at Faragonda as Helia froze, wearing that expression of denial. He managed to quickly shake himself out of his cynical state and turn on the diplomacy.

"Ms. Faragonda, sorry to ask you this all of a sudden before greeting you, but have you met these two before?"

"No?" Faragonda wore a lost expression as her eyebrows crinkled and her eyes squinted behind her thin glasses. "Am I supposed to have met these two people before?"

"Supposedly," Helia whispered as he tossed me a look full of doubt before sighing and resting his eyes.

"What is going on here? What is with the rude behavior? And what is with this young lady?" Saladin spat a list of questions, humiliated that the woman he loved had to spontaneously face such hostile treatment. I was tempted to bluntly say, "Well uncle, the love of your life's true colors was unveiled; she was actually a body switching, chaos creating, witch," but decided to hold back and be merciful.

"Have you really never seen us before?" Flora breathed, sounding shy, hoping that Faragonda wasn't the cause of this whole mess, that she wasn't the antagonist. Why she was hopeful was beyond me because I was filled with a mix of relief, curiosity, and indignation but not hope.

"I'm very sorry, but I have never seen you before," Faragonda confidently replied before pausing in thought. "But I think I know who might have."

"Faragonda?" Saladin muttered as he glanced at her in confusion.

"Sorry uncle. My two friends have a complicated problem that involves Ms. Faragonda. Do you think you can give us some time alone," Helia politely requested.

Saladin pondered the request for a few seconds in an odd way that involved giving us threatening glances and analyzing each of us from head to toe. I felt like I was getting a pat-down by his intense glare.

"Ok," Saladin hesitantly agreed and slowly backed away from the group. "I'll be in the kitchen so tell me when you are done discussing whatever you need to discuss."

"Actually, I'm sorry Saladin, but I'm afraid that I might need to leave right now," Faragonda politely apologized with a slight bow of her head. My eyes caught the quick elbow nudge that she gave Helia that almost looked like just an accident if it weren't for the swift dart of Helia's eyes.

"You are not going any-" I immediately started as I took a step forward to block the hag's way before I felt a warm hand in mine. Flora gripped my hand tightly and gave me a _she knows what she's doing _look. I relaxed and returned to my original position. "Never mind," I mumbled.

"Faragonda," Saladin listlessly whispered as if he was going to say something profound. Instead he just gave a weak regretful smile. "Well, it was nice having you over. Come again some time. Are you three going to stay?"

"Ah, no. I think that Riven and Flora have to leave right now, too. I'll be staying though," Helia answered. I furrowed my eyebrows at Helia's eyes because the fact that I was going to leave was all new news to me.

"I see. Well I can't say that it was nice to meet that…that female friend of yours, but do tell her to come again when she is in a _better_ mood."

What the hell. Hello? I could hear everything Saladin said. I was right in front of him, ready for him to talk to me, but, no. He just _had_ to go and criticize me through his grandson instead of saying it to my face.

I scowled with dissatisfaction as Saladin turned to Flora. "Come again anytime Riven. It was nice seeing you today."

And that was Flora you were talking to old man, not me.

"It was nice seeing you today too Mr. Saladin," Flora politely replied, bowing slightly. At this, Saladin narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"You sure have gotten really formal and polite Riven. Haven't you always just called me old man, uncle, or even just plain Saladin. What's with this formal talk? I feel so distant and lonely." Saladin heartily joked with that joyful voice of his.

"Ah…I'm sorry. I forgot Saladin."

"And when have your ever apologized? You are one funny kid." Saladin cracked a toothy grin. Flora awkwardly gave a weak laugh and gave me glances showing how uncomfortable she was. "Well, I'll see you next time." Then he turned to Faragonda with eyes full of gentleness. "I'll see _you_ soon." Happily, Saladin walked away. After we knew that Saladin was at a far enough distance, Faragonda broke the silence.

"Well, why don't I lead you to the person you are looking for now?" Faragonda offered with a chirp, readjusting the strap of her purse as she walked towards the door.

"Isn't that you?" Flora asked and blinked twice, puzzled.

"She might have looked like me, but that wasn't me. Come into my car and I'll drive you to the person you are looking for." I nodded at this. Going in her car was the foolproof way of keeping an eye on her and making sure that she didn't run away again like last time. Even though she said she wasn't the person we were looking for, I still believed she was until she provided us with some hardcore evidence. Faragonda turned to Helia. "And I'll see you soon Helia. It was nice to see you and your uncle again."

"It was nice to see you too. Flora, Riven,-especially Riven, be nice and bye." I rolled my eyes and grunted at this.

"You should know that I-" I felt a tug on my arm. Flora had fiercely grabbed onto my hand and given it a rough jerk towards the door.

"Stop talking and let's go." And out the door and around the corner we went.

"Flora, let go of my hand. I assure you that you will need this hand when you return to your body," I darkly growled.

Flora paused on the sidewalk and immediately let go of my hand. "Sorry. I didn't notice I was holding on too hard," she apologized. Her eyes guiltily stared at me and she pouted. Even though it was my sorry face that I was looking at, somehow it flipped the sorry switch in my mind and got me feeling bashful.

"It's fine. Just remember that you are in my body and that you actually have muscles now. The amount of strength you have now is different."

Flora compliantly nodded with a childish grin. "Are you kids going to get into the car?" We turned to Faragonda who was stepping into her outdated, beat up Cadillac.

"Oh yes! Of course," Flora chirped as she opened the door, slid in and put on her seat belt. I awkwardly followed after her and did the same before I took a good look around the car as Faragonda started the engine and pulled away from the curb.

"So, your name is Flora?" Faragonda started.

"Ah, yes!" Flora sweetly replied.

"Poor girl. You must feel so lost, being stuck in Riven's body and everything. Don't worry. We'll get this fixed," she tittered.

_What about me?_

I sullenly crossed my arms because I was neglected. Flora gave a weak laugh, and her eyes wandered down to her lap.

"Well, it does feel awkward being stuck in a man's body. But I'm sure Riven is no better off."

"Nonsense. Riven is probably rejoicing that he has landed in a beautiful girl's body," Faragonda eagerly insisted. That freaking lady and her lies didn't stop continued to completely ignore the fact that I could hear every single word she uttered.

"I am not," I growled an inaudible line and sighed before I looked out the windows and watched the passing scenery.

Women were always like this: gossiping, cruel creatures. And some didn't even have any shame about talking bad about a person when he was right there in the same car. Flora wasn't any different. The damn woman was pretending to be all nice and innocent when she was probably brewing some arrogant thoughts. That woman was fake, no doubt about it, not to mention crazy. I was crazy. This situation was crazy.

Flora shook her head and stole a guilty glance at me. "No. Riven is probably more hurt than me. I mean, I came into his life and complicated his world."

Flora screamed the word plastic. It was a lie that she was sympathetic or even truthfully thought those thoughts. She probably wasn't even sorry. Girls, who seemed nice and fake on the outside, were all liars. I should know. I was the son of one.

"_Awww," _Faragonda cooed. "You sweet girl. Don't worry. You two will definitely get back into your body." Faragonda's tone changed after she let out a jaded sigh. "I can't believe that woman changed you two."

Flora laughed weakly again before sinking into silence and the activity of looking out the window. We all stayed quiet for awhile as Faragonda navigated through the congested traffic.

"We're here," she invitingly announced as we pulled up to the curb.

I took a glance at the sign of the shop we had stopped at and was greeted by the mocking words CLOUD TOWER. I gaped. Yes, it was _that_ shop. It was the shop where I had taken the wrong turn, which caused me to enter the wrong bar, drink some weird thing, and become a girl. What a massive, horrendous chain-reaction, and it all stemmed from that one mistake.

"Cloud Tower?" Flora stared at those dark letters after she unbuckled, got out of the car, and walked to the front of the stairs. I did the same as I mulled over the irony of how the initial cause of my problem was also where my savior stayed.

"The person who probably switched you two owns this shop." The atmosphere around Faragonda seemed to darken for a second but as fast as it was there, it was gone. Faragonda's tone immediately became joyful again as she chirped, "Let's go in."

I was hesitant to go in but then Flora took a hold of my hand, this time more gently. "Let's go," she said with that bright smile of hers that seemed to take away all of my doubts. She willingly guided me into to the shop.

When I entered, the doorbells jingled with a welcome. I was immediately hit with a strong, pungent smell of a mix of unidentifiable spices. It was so strong that I wobbled dizzily and almost fainted.

The shelves and stands of the shop were filled with a bunch of odd trinkets such as Hello! Bunny statues, bracelets that spelled your name, random shirts that spelled random words such as 'Abracadabra!' and queer manuals like _Cursing For Dummies._ Flora curiously reached out for a pink flower phone chain on a stand when a voice sounded.

"That one is hexed," a low husky voice said with a contralto. Flora paused and turned to the voice while I followed her gaze. Next to Faragonda stood a tall woman with unusually dull, almost gray skin and blood red lips. Her hair was dyed a bright violet shade that matched her eye shadow and made her golden eyes looked bruised.

"The effects of that one lasts about an hour," she continued before a dangerous smile slowly stretched across her face like a rubber band and her eyes ominously glistened. "Welcome to Cloud Tower," she said, resembling a vampire inviting her lunch into her castle. I stiffened at the witch-like woman and my gaze froze on her. I stayed in that state for god knows how long till Flora gave my hand a slight squeeze.

"You ok Riven?" she worriedly asked.

"Fine," I spat unconfidently and tore my eyes off the woman. Flora didn't seem convinced with my answer but probably decided to leave me alone, realizing that I had my own reasons for my odd behavior.

The reason why I was so taken aback by the new woman was that her appearance resembled someone important to me in the past. Well, that _someone_ was long gone by now and I had long made my heart forget about that person. But somehow just a small reminder of her could make my mind lock-down. Luckily Flora woke me up from that state and though I hated to be in debt to people, much less the woman that inhabited my body at that second, I had to admit that I owed Flora one.

"Don't scare them Griffin," Faragonda sternly told the new stranger.

"But scaring is the best part," she whined. "By the way, why are _you _here?" Griffin replied as her eyebrows crinkled in disgust like Faragonda was some repulsing vermin.

"Because you impersonated me, _again_," she angrily answered and rolled her eyes. Griffin gave a confused stare while Faragonda cocked her head towards us and said, "This is Griffin. The person who switched your bodies." Griffin's face lit up like a bulb in realization.

"Oh! The boy who didn't have any balls to drink and the drunken lady who was dumped by her boyfriend! How are you two? Let me guess…did my little trick cause you two to date?" she enthusiastically asked while her eyebrows rose with craftiness as if she had another evil plan brewing in her head. A rush of excitement passed through me.

_So this was the person who switched us…but date? What the heck did she mean?_

Then I looked down at my hand realized that Flora's fingers were comfortably intertwined with mine. She must have realized that too because when I looked up, our eyes met with shock.

"Ah!" we both exclaimed as we both released the grip in shame.

_Damn! _I quickly began to defend myself. "We aren't dating."

"Sure," Griffin skeptically whistled with eyes lit up with amusement.

"Really," I growled defensively.

"H-He's right!" Flora nervously stammered. "We aren't together. We just…didn't…realize our hands were together?" she proposed, uncertainty lining her voice.

"They're right!" Faragonda joined in with an indignant frown as if she were the one being accused. "Flora is such a sweet girl. She and that rude boy couldn't be together. He doesn't deserve her" I felt a nerve twitch inside of me at the insult. I didn't deserve her? It was the other way around! She didn't deserve me! "The world would end if they did. I mean look at them. Don't they look so incompatible with each other? They look so…so…so different."

Griffin gave an indifferent shrug. "Opposites attract."

"Opposites attract but don't stay together," Faragonda bitterly argued as her nose flared up like an umbrella.

"That's not true! They just-"

"Stop!" Flora bellowed desperately in a deep, commanding tone. Griffin and Faragonda's bickering paused as they both looked over at Flora, surprised that the timid girl was able to use such a masculine and demanding voice. Flora even looked surprised at herself.

Iwas surprised.

I didn't think that such an authoritative voice could come out of Flora. Well, technically it was coming out from my body so it wasn't that surprising that she sounded so aggressive since she was, after all, using my voice. But still…Maybe it was the after affects from staying in my body for a day? I shivered at that thought. If Flora could be more commanding after a day of staying in my body, how much would she change after many days? More importantly, how much would I change? The thought made me shiver. Luckily we were going to change back in a moment.

"Ahem. Well, anyways," Flora started slowly with a newfound confidence as she lifted her chest up a bit higher, "we want to switch back right now."

Griffin blinked thrice with a blank face. "Pardon?"

"We want to switch back into our original bodies?" Flora coyly repeated.

"Oh!" Griffin exclaimed. She erupted in a dramatic laugh that couldn't hide the nervousness underneath.

"It can be done, right? Or else…" I dangerously eyed Griffin. I was tired of playing games with this game and running all over town to solve this problem. I wanted a yes or no.

"You are no fun. Just give me a second will you?" With that, Griffin scurried off into the storage room to do something unimaginable. A bunch of _clings_ and _clangs_ started playing from the room when she entered it.

"Thank you Lord! I'm coming back." I praised with her hands outreached to the…roof. Flora gave me the largest grin ever which exposed all her pearly whites.

"I know!" Then an eruption of squeals came from her and she started jumping up and down like a crazy fan girl. I took a step away from her, afraid that her girly-ness would pass on to me. No matter how happy I was, I was still sane enough to know that I would die if she influenced me and I started squealing like a pig.

Faragonda chuckled as she congratulated us. "Good for you. Tomorrow it will be like all of this was a dream."

"Thank you Miss Faragonda! If you didn't bring us here, we couldn't switch back." Flora happily took Faragonda's hand in hers before engulfing her in a big, warm, bear hug.

"I'm happy that—_Eee!_—you are happy Flora b-but y-you are kind of…" Faragonda voiced trailed off as she was slowly being suffocated by Flora. It was obvious that Flora was still trying to get used to the amount of physical power that she now wielded in her muscles.

"Oh! Sorry!" Flora quickly let go of Faragonda guiltily but even guilt couldn't sodden her mood and keep her from grinning.

"By the way, what kind of shop is this?" I curiously asked after all that mirth inside of me faded and I came back to my senses.

"This shop? Why, this shop is Griffin's magic shop. It basically just sells little trinkets that are either hexed or charmed or how-to books on amateur magic tricks," Faragonda said.

"Hex? Charms? You mean she's a witch?" Flora exclaimed in excitement.

"Of course or how would she impersonate me, set up the scenario where you two run into each other at the bar, and switch you two with just a drink?"

"Ha. I was right." My eyebrows were raised and a satisfied, smug smirk appeared on my face.

"Wow." Flora looked around at the shop in amazement of her new discovery.

"Hey, that is not something to be amazed about. Because she's a witch, she got us into this very problem," I scolded.

"I know. I know. I just can't believe that magic actually does exist. I've always loved magic since I was young and watched a bunch of Disney movies. I mean, wouldn't it be lovely if a fairy existed like Tinkerbell?" Her voice rose with hope and her eyes glittered brightly.

"Well actually, I'm a fairy," Faragonda nonchalantly inserted in like it was just another unimportant piece of information. A fairy? I let out a stifled chuckle.

"A-A fairy? You serious?" I managed to whisper between my laughs.

Faragonda = fairy? That was the biggest joke I had ever heard. I tried to picture that old lady with fluffy white hair wearing a pixie outfit and having wings. The image of her flying around with a trail of pixie dust in her path humored me.

My laughter got harder to hold back so I put a hand on my mouth to muffle the throaty sounds. Faragonda's annoyance was spelled out clearly on her face but I didn't—no, couldn't—stop laughing. By the time I calmed myself down, Flora started talking, with a pensive expression.

"You're a fairy? But I thought fairies were small," Flora innocently squeaked with childlike, glazy eyes. Flora believed her? She was that gullible? My futile effort to stop laughing was easily ignored and I erupted again. "Oh…Riven's laughing," she said in a curious tone as she cocked her head to the side.

Why was I laughing so hard anyways? Was it possible that I was becoming…_bubbly? _Me…bubbly? Oh God. Next thing you know, I'll be going up stage as a hermaphrodite wearing a hot pink bubblegum dress while singing Barbie Girl, the remix. Oh God, oh God. Now,_ that_ image scarred me for life.

"Well, fairies can be like that after shrinking. Usually fairies are human-sized. I guess you could say I'm more like a fairy godmother from Cinderella," Faragonda patiently explained. Flora listened with wide eyes. I calmed down enough to logically process Faragonda's words. Picturing Faragonda in a dark blue hood with a magic wand wasn't as preposterous.

"Ooooh. I see," Flora hummed happily as she made another new discovery. "Wow! Fairies do exist!" Flora's gleeful face suddenly blanked out and was replaced with a curious one. "Can you turn a pumpkin into a beautiful carriage then?" I bit back my lower lip, determined to keep my cool and to stop laughing.

"Of course! All it takes is a –"Bibidi-bobidi-boo." I gave my head a quick shake to forget my last thoughts and interrupted Faragonda, changing the subject to save myself from bursting out in laughter again.

"W-why is this shop called C-Cloud Tower?"

A mischievous grin surfaced on Faragonda's face and her eyes twinkled with amusement. "That's because-"

"AHEM!" Griffin emerged from the storage room with one vial of bright red liquid in her right hand and one vial of glowing purple liquid in her left. Oh great. I prepared my tastes buds to be tortured again. "What were you going to say, Faragonda?"

"Just how horribly dull your shop looks on the inside. You need an interior designer," Faragonda sarcastically replied with false smile.

"Just because my walls aren't bright doesn't mean it's dull. Not everyone's favorite color is blinding, neon pink like you," Griffin sneered. Then she gave an annoyed snort and continued, "Anyways, I'm done. You-" she handed me the red vial "-drink this, and you-" she handed the glowing violet vial to Flora "-drink this. Everything done now?"

Flora nervously nodded her head and took skeptical glances at her vial. We both took a deep breath as we looked the mysterious concoction in our hands.

"Well, on the count of three?" Flora suggested.

"All right," I readily agreed.

"One."

We both raised our cups to our mouths.

"Two."

We both tilted our heads back.

"Three."

And we both poured the liquid that would end this nightmare down our throats.

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**A\N: Again, reviews are welcomed. :) Kudos to any dedicated readers I have out there. You guys give me warm fuzzies. Is anyone getting confused by the POV changes every chapter? Do I need to put the POV at the beginning of the chapter? **


	7. Showing New Sides

_Disclaimer: I do not own Winx Club. All recognizable characters belong to Straffi. Plot and OCs belong to me._

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**CHAPTER SEVEN – SHOWING NEW SIDES**

When I poured the potion down my throat, I shut my eyes tightly, preparing myself for the unexpected. How did it feel to switch bodies? I didn't know, but I was prepared to find out right when I downed all of the acrid liquid in one go.

However, after I swallowed the potion, nothing worth noting happened. I didn't faint. I didn't feel lighting run through my body. One second passed. Nothing happened. Ten seconds passed. Nothing happened. Twenty seconds. Nothing. Nothing changed.

I could still hear the incessant honking of the cars outside. I could still taste the acrid aftertaste of the liquid in my mouth.

"You cheated us didn't you?" Riven accused. I timidly inched my eyes open, hoping that I would be greeted with the sight of Riven back in his body. But of course, my wish wasn't granted and there stood my body giving Griffin a threatening glare.

She shook her head with a frown. "What I gave you was the real thing."

"Then how do you explain us still being in the wrong body, huh?" he argued and crossed his arms defiantly.

"Griffin…it couldn't be that what you gave them was…timed…right?" Faragonda hesitantly asked like a timid child.

"Of course." Faragonda grimaced and her eyes immediately scrunched up.

"Huh? What…timed?" I stuttered, apprehensive of the answer. Griffin didn't poison us, did she?

"Don't worry. It isn't harmful," Faragonda gently purred. Her answer immediately erased any suspicion that I had. "It's just a timed antidote."

"A timed antidote?" both Riven and I asked with a puzzled face.

"A timed antidote is dormant for a set amount of time. So basically, you two won't switch back for a while," Griffin cheerfully explained with an evil glint of amusement in her eye as she dictated every single word in the last sentence. I concluded that witches were mean like I had thought when I was little. Riven snarled at Griffin and looked ready to tackle the witch to the ground, and he probably would have if I hadn't nudged his arm and given him a worried glance.

"So what is the set amount of time for this antidote then?" I asked in a hopeful tone. Who knows? Maybe it was just a few minutes, or hours, or maybe a day. I was fine if it was just a week too.

"One." And then she paused while I pursed my lips in thought.

"One?" One minute? One hour? One day? One week?

"Hun…"

"Hun?"

"…dred."

ONE HUNDRED! My eyes widened at an alarming rate as my jad—I mean, violet eyes watched her for confirmation. I hoped she meant minutes.

"Days."

Oh Lord. One hundred days! That didn't sound like a healthy amount of time. I braced myself and waited for myself to faint so that I could wake up and find out that everything was just a bad dream. But of course nothing happened, _again_.

"LIAR!" Riven immediately growled as if he were waiting for the chance to show his dissent the second when Griffin ended.

"'Fraid not young man. Or should it be, young woman?" Griffin gave an unpleasant grin.

"I would pummel you right now if I were in my own body." Riven gave a menacing scowl at Griffin.

"Even if you did, it wouldn't change a thing. It isn't like I've got any say on how magic works around here. I don't make the laws of nature." Griffin gave a vexing, nonchalant shrug.

"I'm afraid that she is right. You can get mad at her for getting you two in this situation in the first place but it isn't her fault that it takes one hundred days for you two to switch back." Faragonda gave me a mournful frown as she shook her head, unsatisfied with the results. "For now, all you two can do is try to live like each other and keep your bodies safe."

Griffin yawned. "Well, I'm going to go take a nap now. I am more of a night dweller. Good luck with living out those one-hun-dred-days," she said, making sure to properly pause between each syllable of one hundred days for a dramatic effect.

"You!" Riven growled as he took a step towards Griffin's retreating figure.

"Riven," I warned. Riven grunted somberly like a dog that had its bone taken away.

"Always the peacemaker."

"Of course," I cheerfully replied.

Riven made a comeback with a proud smirk. "Well that has to change because for the next one hundred days, you are going to live as the Riven. And let me get this straight, the Riven is no peacemaker. He's a mysterious bad-boy who definitely doesn't stand down to a fight—well, according to my image that you know so much about anyways. Pft. Fangirl."

Faragonda just shook her head at Riven. She was probably thinking something like, _'What a rude young man,' _considering her sophisticated character. I, on the other hand was wearing an innocent smile on purpose to annoy the heck out of Riven. I wasn't going to start entertaining the violent, proud man anytime soon by showing him my displeasure. I have to say that it was difficult to not frown after being called a fangirl of his band.

"Well for the next one hundred days, you are going to live as Flora. And let _me_ get this straight, if I may. Flora is no violent brute that punches something or someone whenever something sets her off. She doesn't act rude. She is polite to others…well, as long as if they aren't a brute like Riven. And she doesn't have a hobby of naming her cars names like Angelina or riding a motorcycle named Bella." And then I gave another innocent grin as the final blow. _Flora wasn't so sweet anymore was she?_ I watched with amusement as Riven gaped.

"You know the name of my motorcycle?" he exclaimed with disbelief.

"Yes. I had the pleasure of meeting sweet Bella."

"You stalker," Riven mumbled under his breath as she gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Her name was engraved on the bike," I confidently pointed out. "And the bike was hard to miss since you left it in your garage for anyone and everyone to see. So, how much time do you spend polishing it every day?"

"An ho—I mean…that is none of your business. And shouldn't we get back to our main concern with what we're going to do with this whole one hundred days business?"

"I'm getting to know your relationship between you and your motorbike. That counts as getting to know you better so I can act like you better," I pointed out.

"Sorry Flora but Riven is right. We need to get back on topic." I pouted over Faragonda taking Riven's side but relented in the end because I knew they were right and because I had already gotten my little revenge over being called a fangirl. I had to admit that teasing Riven was fun. Chipping away at his overblown ego was fun!

"Why don't we get in the car and you two can discuss all your plans along the way." We both readily agreed and went to the car. When we were all strapped in and the engine was running, I tried to restart the conversation.

"What are we going to do about work?" I curiously asked.

"Well, it isn't like you can stop being in a band all of a sudden," Riven pointed out.

"So I have to play the role of a rock star for a hundred days?" I exclaimed in disbelief. "Do you know how crazy that sounds?"

Riven scoffed. "Well, you don't have a choice. We can't cancel the band's whole schedule. Some of the upcoming events are too big to be cancelled. The interview and autograph sessions can be cancelled but not concerts. Oh…shoot," Riven cursed under her breath. "The Christmas Eve concert! I bet you don't know the drums?"

I recalled the whole planning session that the band had this morning and put a relieved smile on my face. "No, but don't worry. The whole band already found a solution. I'll be on the keyboard and you stay on the drums while Timmy plays the rhythm guitar," I explained.

"You…on the piano? Can you perform in front of an audience of thousand people?" Riven questioned in a cynical tone with raised eyebrows.

I shuddered at that thought. A th-thousand people? The biggest audience I had ever played in front of was about a hundred people. I couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen if I had to perform in front of a thousand. That's ten times of a hundred! "A thousand," I said, still managing to keep my calm and collected tone even though I was far from it. "Isn't that a bit too big?"

"No. Usually we perform in front of an audience ten times that number. What the heck was Helia smoking when he decided to put _you _on stage?"

I frowned at that statement and defiantly crossed my arms. What was he trying to imply?

"What _about _me?" I glared at Riven.

Riven didn't hesitate in fear or worry that he would offend me or hurt my feelings and eagerly started to list reasons why I couldn't be on stage. "First, you say you can play the piano but your skills are probably at an amateur level. Instead of helping the band, you would probably embarrass it with your crappy piano skills." I gaped at the first reason even though I could hardly argue.

"Second, I bet you have never even been on such a large stage and you'll probably run out on the band during a performance because of stage fright. That brings us back to you embarrassing the band." Well, it was true that I would be scared and have stage fright but never would I run out. I wasn't that impulsive. If it was one thing that I had confidence in, it was my ability to stay calm and collected during dire times. Riven obviously didn't know that. Of course he didn't, seeing that we met only a day ago, even though it felt like a week. The torture of living in his body made time pass by slower.

"And third…you're a woman." Ok, now he was just being a downright, unreasonable jerk.

"That is the worst excuse I have ever heard. What are you? A chauvinist?" My lips curled down into a frown, mad at the worthless excuse he gave that didn't even make any sense. The last time I checked, it had been confirmed that women and men were equals.

Riven rolled his eyes and sucked his cheeks in. "Whatever. The other two reasons were fine."

I thought about how to prove him wrong for a second or two before starting up again, "I'm definitely not as good at playing the keyboard like you or Timmy, but I'll try my hardest to improve. I didn't think I was that bad though. I have played the piano since I was seven till college under my mother. She's a professional pianist. And I would never run out during a performance even if I was scared. Sure, I would have stage fright but I wouldn't selfishly ruin the whole concert. I am not that horrible."

Riven's only reply was one vexing word, "Whatever." That one word made me want to pull out my hair for the first time of my life. "So, you get mad too."

I blinked thrice, not understanding what he said. "What?"

"I'm saying that you seemed to be all shy, sweet, and nice, so I didn't think that you would crack and get mad so easily over one little insult." I paused and thought about his words long and hard and came to agree with Riven. I usually acted more accepting and calm in front of hostility, well, I thought I did. Then again, Riven was being a big jerk. If I didn't get mad, I would be odd.

Faragonda gave a short chuckle from the front of the car and Riven raised one eyebrow in interest. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," she chirped. "Just found it funny how you two have been talking for a couple of minutes and offended each other already. Seriously, what was Griffin thinking? These two, a couple? Opposites attract? I think not."

I just gave an awkward laugh because the thought of being paired up with Riven was just too weird. There was a couple seconds of awkward silence before I got the courage to clear my throat and break it. "Umm…So, we talked about what I'm going to do for my job but we haven't talked about what you're going to do, Riven."

"What's there to talk about my job?"

"Well, like what you're going to do? We both know that you can't be a florist," I pointed out, suggesting that it was obvious.

"Duh. That's why I'm going to take a hundred days off," he replied with an equally it-is-obvious voice.

"A hundred day break? What am I suppose to say?"

"I don't know. That's what you're supposed to find out."

I rolled my eyes at Riven's unhelpful behavior. Then an idea struck me and I suddenly knew what I had to do.

"Excuse me. Miss Faragonda? Do you think you can stop by Marigold Avenue?"

"Of course. But may I ask why?" Faragonda replied.

"I need to stop by a florist store called Gardenia."

Riven cocked his head towards me. "Why?"

"You'll see."

"Gardenia? I love that store! The flower arrangements are always so nice. Saladin often gives me flowers from that shop," Faragonda exclaimed with such enthusiasm, you would think that the shop was her own. A wide smile stretched across my face and my eyes twinkled with pride.

"Really? 'Cause I'm a florist at that shop. "

"You are? So you arranged all those beautiful bouquets?" she said with disbelief and hopefulness in her voice.

"Yes!"

"Actually, I know a bit about flower arranging." So for the rest of the ride, Faragonda and I chatted about different flower arrangements while Riven stared distantly out the window. When she got to the shop, I found it difficult to leave the car and end the conversation because I was having fun talking with Faragonda about flowers.

"I'll be back fast. And Riven, can you come out with me?" Riven grumbled and unwillingly complied.

When I entered the shop, Mirta stood behind the counter as usual, bored and half asleep. The sound of the door opening galvanized her back to life.

"How may I help—Flora? And…RIVEN?" Mirta gaped when her eyes fell on me. I broke out in a friendly smile and started to read out the script that I had mentally typed out while I was in the car.

"Actually, I'm here to talk about that Mirta. No one is here but you right now, right?" I asked just for assurance. Mirta vigorously shook her head.

Riven gave me a nudge in my waist and hissed, "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to get you out of being a florist for a hundred days." I earned a confused glance from Riven. "Just trust me."

"Mirta, to tell you the truth, I'm Flora." Mirta gave me a blank expression before bursting out into a fit of giggles.

"That's funny," she breathed between her giggles.

Riven nudged—more like elbowed—me in the waist and snarled, "What are you doing?"

I ignored Riven and continued. I crossed my fingers hoping that Mirta would give in and believe me with the following evidence.

"Mirta, who else would know what your most embarrassing nightmare is?" I asked, desperate for her to believe me. Mirta gasped and then looked over at Flora with a look of betrayal and glassy eyes.

"Y-you told her?" she trembled.

"I don't freakin' know what you are talking about," Riven growled and glared at me, annoyance spelled out in his eyes.

Not expecting such a hostile reply, Mirta jumped and did a double take with me and Riven. "W-Whisper in my ear…the horrid, embarrassing nightmare and I'll believe you," she hesitantly offered. I nodded my head, grateful for the opportunity and leaned forward to whisper her nightmare to her. I watched as she started sweating and trembling more and more as I got closer and closer.

"You became a pumpkin." Mirta swallowed hard.

"Flora?" she trembled

"Yeah, and that's Riven." I pointed at Riven who was currently giving the biggest, permanent scowl in the world with his eyes looking up as if the ceiling was utterly amazing. He crossed his arms, and his foot tapped a steady beat.

"What happened? I mean, last night everything was fine," she breathed.

I bit back my lower lip and my eyes wandered off.

"It is kind of hard to explain," I sheepishly replied. "But after one hundred days everything will be back to normal so I was hoping that you could find another florist for the meantime because this guy doesn't know where to begin with flowers."

"Flora," she purred as she glanced at me and Riven with pity. "Don't worry. I'll find another florist."

"Thanks Mirta!" I gave her my brightest smile. "I'll definitely pay you back."

"U-Um…well, can I have Riven's autograph then?" she timidly asked with her eyes to the ground.

"No," Riven immediately said before marching right out of this store. I frantically looked at Riven before trying to cover for him.

"Sorry. He's a bit mad. Um, can I give you his autograph another time?"

"Sure. Anytime is fine," she happily chirped back, not catching my anxious expression and jerky voice.

"Thanks. Bye." With that, I rushed out the door madly and got back in the car.

"Flora! I knew it. This guy tried to convince me to leave you behind because you got another ride," Faragonda said and cocked her head towards Riven. Riven sat next to me, slouched with his arms crossed and a scowl violently etched in his face.

"Um…Are you ok, Riven?"

"What do you think?" he snapped.

There was a long pause and I decided to stay silent for I knew exactly what he was mad about and that any excuse to explain myself wouldn't make him feel better. I had a feeling that apologizing wouldn't help the situation at all.

Faragonda drove us all the way back to Saladin's neighborhood in piercing silence. When we got there, Riven unwillingly gave me a lift to my house even though he acted like he would rather abandon me in a ditch.

During the ride back home, he kept his eyes on the road and didn't utter a single word. I gathered the courage to say, "Can I turn on the radio?" Of course, my only reply was more silence. He didn't mutter a complaint even when I asked if I could plant flowers in the front of the house.

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_Rawr._


	8. Immortal Bells

_Disclaimer: I do not own Winx Club. All recognizable characters belong to Straffi. Plot and OCs belong to me._

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**CHAPTER EIGHT – IMMORTAL BELLS**

For two days, I wandered around the city without giving a damn to who was watching me. The only good thing that came out of switching bodies with Flora was the feeling of being a 'nobody' on the streets.

It felt relaxing to just walk around the city in the open without hiding my face like I was some criminal. It felt like…like the feeling you get when you come out of the restroom after relieving a load.

Unfortunately, the third day, someone rudely interrupted my dreamlike bliss.

The freaking doorbell just kept ringing over and over and over like a broken record till the tone stuck in my mind. I assumed that Musa would answer the doorbell, but that day, she happened to be conveniently gone. As I lethargically dragged myself out of bed and marched towards the door, a string of curses rolled out from my tongue.

"What!" I snapped, the minute I swung the door open. An apologetic looking guy stood at my step.

"Flora," the stranger breathed, a frown tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Do I know you?" I let out a lazy yawn before I took a good look at the guy from head to toe.

The guy had a slender build and lanky yet firm arms that showed that he worked out often but couldn't get rid of bony arms no matter how hard he tried. I smirked. I never had that problem.

The early morning sun reflected of his pale face that was currently delivering a look of consternation.

"Flora, I know you must be crying and hurt after the party, but we need to talk. Just let me explain myself," he pleaded with a voice you would use to tame a wildcat. He jerked his head to the side to move his dark bangs so that he could focus his ebony eyes on mine.

I cocked an eyebrow at him and out of curiosity went along with the flow of the conversation.

"Explain," I dryly replied.

"It wasn't my fault!" he clumsily spurted out. "That woman came on to me first, and don't believe what she told you."

"She?"

"You know, the girl who told you all that stuff, which are a lies if I must add, at the party." The man waited for me to light up with realization.

"Oh! Of cooourse," I drawled, pretending that I knew exactly what the guy was talking about when in reality, everything he said sounded like a bunch of bullshit. I was more concerned about eating my breakfast. "Anything else?"

"Uh—Well no." His eyes flickered back in forth as he scratched the back of his head.

"Then bye." With that, I coldly slammed the door in crazy guys face and turned around to walk towards the kitchen.

The ringing started up again, more vicious and incessant than before.

I angrily marched back to the door and dealt a heavy kick on it.

"SHUT UP!"

The ringing stopped right after that and I thought that I would never see that man again. But the next day, the doorbell struck again. I discovered that Musa had a _convenient _schedule involving being absent in the morning.

_Ding dong. Ding dong. Ding dong._

"What?" I angrily shouted at him when I opened the door.

"Will you listen to me?"

"I did."

The door slammed shut again and I hoped that I never heard that cursed doorbell ring again.

But life hates me and nothing ever goes my way so the following day, the same guy, Flora's cheating boyfriend, showed up in front of my door, _again._

"WILL YOU GO AWAY?" I roared.

"Just lis-" The door slammed again, and when the ringing didn't begin, I sighed with relief. I enjoyed a minute of silence before that damned tone played.

_Ding dong._

My fists clenched. I was resolved to give the guy a blow to his head because it was obvious that words weren't working. Then again, punching didn't match up with Flora's personality. Maybe a slap would be more effective.

"HOW MANY FREAKING TIMES DO I-"

I paused when I saw a stranger standing outside the door. Instead of amber eyes, I met a pair of jade eyes.

"F-Flo?" The girl in front of me trembled with wide frightened eyes. Immediately, my mind blanked and the infuriated expression on my face was replaced with a confused one. Oh great. I hated Flora's life.

"Oh… There was someone else here just now that pis—I mean, made me really, really mad so I thought that you were him and, well, basically what I am saying is…I didn't mean to do that." I messily tried to cover up my mistake as my eyes flickered back in forth with fear that I might have blown my cover.

"Oh. It was Roy, right? I saw him walk out form here. Did you guys have a fight? Did you guys make up?"

So…Roy was his name. The girl curiously probed and I couldn't help but sigh at her busybody attitude that many girls shared.

Women were cryptic creatures that could sit around all day and gossip on how someone's friend's cousin's aunt's maid had hooked up with their best friend's nephew's distant cousin who was three times removed.

"I don't know and I don't want to talk about it," I nonchalantly replied with a worn out expression.

"You _don't_ have to worry. You can tell me and I won't tell-"

"Aren't you here for something?" I interrupted, not willing to deal with a meddling girl. The boyfriend already gave me enough stress.

"Oh yes! I was going to call or text you about it but since I hadn't seen you for a while, I decided to visit. Grandma wants you to come have dinner with the family tonight."

Grandma? Was this girl Flora's relative? Maybe she was a younger sister? Older sister? I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up being Flora's mother. Using Botox, plastic surgery or any other tool available, old women could look like a freaking fifteen year old. I needed answers.

"Why would Grandma want me to go?"

"I think it's because she heard about you and Roy having some relationship problems. She probably found out from all those posts on your wall on Facebook. You know how Grandma has been lately. She's addicted to that website."

I guess it was true that everyone had Facebook nowadays. I, for one, never got into the website partly because I wasn't that much of a people person. Timmy tried to convince me of the wonders of networking but sadly, he failed.

"Anyways, the same old people are going to be at the dinner. You know, mom, dad, grandma, you, and me." So she was the sister. "So…come…yes?"

"Do I have to?"

"Well, if you don't, I will get in trouble so please come," the sister said with a hint of fear in her voice.

"…Fine," I unwillingly gave in with a frown.

"Yay! Thank you Flora," she chirped with cheer as she swiftly attacked me with a large embrace.

"Yes, yes, yes. By the way, what's the address?"

"You forgot the address of the house you lived in for over a decade?"

"That's why I'm asking."

She mournfully shook her head. "That is just too sad Flora. I'll text it."

She paused for a second or two and checked her watch before her dainty hands flew her to lips as she gasped. She said that she was late to a lunch date and apologized for not staying longer.

After Flora's sister said goodbye, I went back in and enjoyed a small snack, saving my empty stomach for the dinner tonight. I planned to eat heaps of home cooked food in exchange for having to go through the trouble of meeting the rents. First I had to deal with Flora's boyfriend, and now I had to entertain her family too?

How fun.

I lounged around and watched some TV before an epiphany struck. I could have put an end to all of my troubles with Roy earlier on. I smacked my forehead and muttered with disbelief that I hadn't noticed the key to solving all my problems. Still mad at myself for being ignorant, I drove to Flora's house which used to be mine.

* * *

_Comments? Opinions? Criticism? Review!_


	9. Nearing Death

_Disclaimer: Let's get this out of the way. My characters may be OOC at times, but yes, they belong to Straffi, and yes, I own my OC._

_Author's Note: Thanks to xxxMusarockz for betaing._

* * *

**CHAPTER NINE – NEARING DEATH**

Helia visited the day after I explained the whole story to him. He arrived in front of my door with a fat binder in hand. I had to ask who it was because his face was hidden behind the tower.

"It's me, Helia. Can you let me in?"

Surprised and a bit flustered, I graciously let him in. Helia effortlessly strolled in and set the binder on the coffee table ever so gently.

"Um…Hey? I don't mean to be discourteous, but why are you here?" I politely asked as I closed the door.

Helia laid a resounding thump on the fat binder. "For this. You need to learn all of The Specialists' songs. Its scheduled with many other things in a hundred days so I got Timmy to print out all the material you need."

I gulped at the intimidating tower. "So I need to know everything in…that?"

"Well, you need to get the gist of it. Don't worry. It may seem like a lot but by the Christmas Eve Concert, you need to have only mastered thirty songs."

"Thirty is an ominous number," I pointed out.

"Thirteen is an ominous number, not thirty. Are you superstitious?" I shook my head. "Then, it should be fine. Don't worry. I'm sure you can master thirty songs with practice. You've got a hundred days to work with, plus, your schedule has been cleared to a considerable extent. All autograph sessions and interviews were removed. The only big event you have to worry about is next October."

I adjusted my position on the couch so that I was sitting at the edge and then opened up the binder to the first page which contained my schedule on a calendar for the next three months. Today was September the 15th and I didn't have anything written on my schedule till…

"I have an event I need to attend on September 23?" I glanced at Helia with confusion and he returned the same look towards me before taking a look at my schedule.

"Oh yea. Timmy must have added in Brandon's birthday party. September 23rd is Brandon's birthday, just eight days from now. He'll be turning twenty-three. It's going to be just a small gathering at his place, so why don't you come?"

"I will! It sounds fun," I said with enthusiasm before turning back to the schedule. "Riven's birthday is here too. October 15th…Will he have a celebration too?"

"Riven's not a big celebration guy, so probably not." I looked at Helia intently as he answered and caught a slight awkwardness in Helia's smooth voice.

"Does he hate birthdays?"

"Well not all birthdays. Just his own."

I knew there was a story behind why Riven hated his birthday but decided not to press further. After all, even though I was stuck in Riven's body, I was still an outsider, and boldly thrusting my nose in people's business would be overbearing.

"Anyways, we should probably talk about October 17th," Helia continued. "The whole band is supposed to be on separate judge panels. We are going to be on a new televised show that our company, Eracklyon, is going to launch. It's called…Masters of the Stage. Cheesy, right? Anyway, it's going to be a performance competition with four categories: dance, bands, solos and duets, or singing groups such as choirs. The whole band will have to stay near the beach where the auditorium is while we film. Each of us were supposed to be split up to represent each category and Riven was supposed to be in charge of the bands, but due to some issues, you have to be in charge of the solo singers and-"

"Wait. S-So I'm going to be on TV?"

"Well, of course. You were going to be on TV anyways, during the Christmas Eve Concert."

"I—I don't think I can do that," I stuttered unsurely.

"Don't worry, you can," Helia confidently assured me with a large grin.

I shook my head again. Helia either didn't understand or he just comforted me too much. "I can't, definitely can't. People will find out that there is something amiss."

"_Don't worry._ On that day, Riven will be there and he will tell you what to say through an earpiece. All you have to do is say what he tells you to say. If he says it's good, say it's good. If he says it's bad, say it's bad. That's all there is to it. Rather than worrying about how to judge, you should probably worry about mastering all those thirty songs." I gulped in fear.

"Oh dear," I whispered.

Helia let out a muffled chuckle and give me big-brother-like pat on my back which made me blush because of the intimacy.

"Well, I can try to help you if you need help with the music," he graciously offered with a gentle smile, a slight bounce in his voice as his laughs settled down.

"That would be great."

"Then why don't we start now?" Helia slid out a blinder from the bottom of the stack and flipped it open to a page of music. "Why don't you try to sight-read this song at the piano downstairs in the basement?"

Helia flipped to a page in the binder. I stiffened at the thought of Helia watching me play. It was a bit nerve-racking, but I hesitantly agreed.

When I looked at the score, I recognized the title. It was one of Musa's and, surprisingly enough, my favorites.

WE BELIEVE (1)

I didn't always like The Specialists every song but I loved 'We Believe' because of the meaning it conveyed. It was one of the band's old songs that didn't get played on the radio.

Helia and I went down to the basement where a grand piano stood. I walked over to the piano while Helia settled down in a chair. Then after sitting down and laying out all the music in front of me, I took a deep breath and started.

I hadn't played piano for months so my fingers acted stiff at first, but I slowly caught up to the tempo. Every resounding chord was played with gracefulness like a prancing gazelle in silver moonlight. The melody flowed through the song with ease. The notes built up with emotion, and as if I were singing, every note I played voiced out a distinct word. I had accidently strewn mistakes across the song, but despite that fact, by the time I finished, I felt satisfied.

I looked expectantly at Helia after the performance. I wasn't sure whether Helia staring with wide eyes qualified as a good or bad thing.

"You're good at the piano! At this rate, you'll be able to master those thirty songs in no time. You might as well master a hundred while you're at it," he exclaimed with a grin. I sighed with relief when he spoke with compliments.

"You—You praise me too much. The credit goes to my mom who taught me. I've played piano since I was very young, under her. She was once a concert pianist. Now she just gives lessons at the Alfea University."

"Really? What's your mom's name?"

"Gloria."

I watched at Helia stiffened at the name. His facial expressions went from shock, to disbelief, to understanding, before becoming intense and studious. His eyes narrowed and stared. I felt the tension as he gave me spine chilling stares as if he were staring not only at my appearance, but at my soul as well.

"U-Umm. Helia?" I nervously began. My voiced shattered his deep concentration and he met my eyes with confusion.

"Oh. Uh. Sorry. I was just thinking something." Helia gave a coy smile and started towards the stairs. "Well, I better get going now. It was nice talking to you, Flora. Remember to practice those pieces. Bye."

Helia quickly left the house, not even waiting for me to open the door for him to leave. I was suspicious and I was starting to realize that maybe Riven wasn't the only one with secrets.

ººº

Despite my whining, I diligently would visit the piano everyday in the morning and night. Practicing was a tedious chore but I found enjoyment in it.

During my spare time, I planted flowers, bought a few miscellaneous items, and surfed the internet, a tiring activity. Surfing the internet became stressful, especially when it came to Facebook.

_Oh Facebook. Dear facebook. How I despise thee._

I gave up and decided to ditch Facebook all together after Roy kept sending me message after message filled with reasons why he was innocent.

I finally decided to boycott Facebook after Roy sent me a message while I was online one day, and I was dumb enough to respond. It grew into a long, emotionally charged conversation that ended with me, concluding that I wouldn't waste any of my precious time with him anymore.

Roy had written, "It's your loss if you don't come back to me. I didn't do anything wrong and yet you are being so unreasonable. Flora, I thought you were different."

At first, I experienced a rush of guilt ram into me. Then I suddenly realized Roy's true intentions. He had said that line on purpose to make me forgive him. Roy had always manipulated me into doing what he wanted since the beginning. He knew that I was soft and kind, so he would pressure me and twist my will by taking advantage of those two qualities.

Why didn't I realize it before?

I was blinded by my emotions of love, but now I could see the true Roy, prideful, manipulative, and stubborn. So I decided to ignore him by blocking his calls and boycotting Facebook.

ººº

One afternoon, the door creaked open. I immediately knew it was a burglar and I ducked behind the counter with the butter knife in my trembling hand. My heart raced like a snare drum as I squatted in the kitchen and the footsteps inched closer and closer. Was I going to die?

_Clack. Clack. Clack. _

All I could do was clutch the butter knife in my clammy hand tighter with anxiety as I broke out in nervous sweat.

_Clack._

I curled myself up into a tiny ball. When the footsteps rounded the corner, I gathered enough courage to break out with spirit.

My manly warrior scream rang throughout the house as I launched myself into the air and pointed my weapon which was still coated in tomato pulp. The spitting image of myself made me pause.

"God! Are trying to kill me with that…butter knife?" Riven took another step backwards. "I knew you were a psycho."

"R-Riven?" I gasped.

"Yeah. Put that knife down, would you?" he answered with a comforting hostile growl. I never once thought that I would feel so relieved by Riven's presence.

"Thank goodness. I thought I was going to die," I said as I placed the butter knife on the counter. Suddenly all the tension in my muscles left and beamed a bright smile. "Sorry."

"You? Die? I deserve to say that! I thought I was going to die when you lunged at me psychotically!" he accusingly yelled.

"Sorry. Sorry. I thought you were a burglar because I heard the door open so…"

"I see," Riven acknowledged with understanding, "I got in because I punched in the password."

"Password? This place has a password?" My eyebrows crinkled.

"Of course! Didn't you see a keypad by the door near the doorbell?"

I shook my head and gave myself a mental slap at my ignorance. Of course.

"Anyways, now you know, don't come flying at me with butter knife the next time you think a burglar has entered." Riven shuddered at the thought and moved deeper into the kitchen to survey. "Are you making lunch?"

"I was making myself a turkey sandwich with some tea and cake." When I looked back at Riven, I swore I could see drool at the corner of his mouth. "Want some?"

"N-No."

"You sure? You're a growing boy." I suspiciously stared at Riven, expecting him to give in.

"Well, if you insist."

I giggled at Riven's denial. I didn't think such a cocky guy could be so reserved when it came to a small thing like lunch. It was as if he had never been offered lunch before.

After serving the food, we sat and ate by the couches. I learned that Riven actually loved cake. Shocking, right? At first, Riven acted skeptical towards strawberry shortcake as if it was poisoned, but he eventually gobbled it all down. I could tell that he really enjoyed it when I offered him more and he coyly accepted.

On the other hand, Riven hated the tea and preferred black coffee.

What an odd man.

"You planted…_flowers_," he pointed out while eating.

"What's wrong with flowers?" I defensively started with my arms crossed

"Nothing, but I'll remind you that after the hundred days are over, I'm not going to take care of them, and I don't want withering flowers in front of my house." I gaped with horror.

"Why can't you just take care of the flowers? All you need to do is water them."

"They are your flowers, not mine, so don't expect me to take care of them. One hundred days from now, you better expect to see dead flowers in front of my house."

"Well, actually, it's ninety-five," I pointed out.

"Wow. Someone is actually counting the days down."

"Of course. I have a whole calendar right there and mark each day down." I pointed to a large whiteboard on the wall with one hundred days written on them. Days one to five were already crossed off. "Today is September 19th so in ninety-five days, our lives will be back to normal."

"And what day is that?" Riven cocked an eyebrow.

"Christmas Eve, the day of the concert." Riven's eyes suddenly widened with surprise.

"Are you serious? That's not good."

"How?" I curiously asked as I took a bite of my cake.

"Well, what if we change back while we're onstage?"

I paused in mid-chew. I hadn't thought of that.

"Maybe we won't change back till midnight once the day is over or maybe we'll change back before the concert even starts?" I continued to chew the last bit of cake.

"Always the optimistic one," Riven said with an amused twinkle in his eyes. I wasn't sure if he had intended for that to be an insult but I couldn't help but take it as a compliment. Being optimistic was a trait I was proud of.

"Yep," I cheerfully replied before taking all the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen. Riven insisted on helping me because he didn't want to owe me a favor. After clean up was done, we settled on the couches again.

"Why are you here anyways? I mean, that last time we saw each other, I thought, um…" My mind traveled back to the time when I told Mirta about the switch before informing Riven about it. I still felt guilty about it but Riven seemed completely over it. Maybe he forgot?

"Huh?" Yeah, he definitely forgot about it. "By the way, shut up that boyfriend of yours. He has been coming every morning and waking me up for the past three days! I don't want to deal with your boy drama."

"It isn't that easy. I've already told him that I want to break up on Facebook, but he just doesn't give up," I somberly muttered.

"Then you need to tell him face to face that you're over him. Well, you are over him, right?"

"I am completely over him," I concluded. "Have you rejected him?"

"I have, but he doesn't give up no matter how many times I slam the friggin' door!" Riven exclaimed and took a swig of his coffee. Then his eyes lit up like lights. "I'll say I got a new boyfriend. That will make the damn guy give up."

I shook my head. "No, he won't give up unless the actual new boyfriend is in front of his face."

"Well, then a fake boyfriend will have to show up tomorrow morning to stand in front of his face," Riven easily said with confidence.

I gazed at him with incredulity. "And how will we do that?"

"You're going to be the fake boyfriend."

I waited for the words to settle in my mind before I exclaimed, "I can't do that! Besides, you're famous. Rumors would fly-"

"No they won't. Your boyfriend won't tell a soul if you show up as the boyfriend. His pride wouldn't allow him to tell others. Trust me. I know how guys work," Riven calmly assured me.

"I still can't do it. I'm…scared. What if he finds out that it's all a lie? What if you're wrong and he does tell? Why can't things just stay the same?" I cast my eyes down.

"What are you? I bet your parents are spineless chickens."

"…I beg you pardon?"

Riven heaved a sigh and looked at the clock. "We have time." He got up and started towards the door. "Come with me somewhere."

"Why? Where are we going?"

Riven opened the front door and started outside. "To get your guts, chicken."

ººº

I took one gigantic step backwards, away from the edge of the bridge.

"Nope! Not doing this."

My decision was firm and final. I turned to Riven who was scowling because of the trouble of keeping his windswept golden-brown hair out of his face. I hugged my chest and rubbed my arms to warm myself up.

The rush of the river below me seemed to call out my death. We were currently up on the bridge, deep inside of mountains which were miles from the city. I could not even start to reason why I on the bridge. I didn't even know that Riven had paid for me to jump of the very same bridge I was currently standing on. Why didn't I refuse when all the wire and straps were hooked and wrapped around me?

"It's only five hundred feet," Riven argued back, showing no mercy. "That's hardly anything."

"five hundred feet!" I squeaked. "Let's go back," I firmly decided while reaching downwards to take off the equipment and figure out how to take it off.

"Look, I already paid for this."

"Then you do it!" I continued to try to find a way to remove the straps around my body but gave up shortly after. "Can you take it off me?" Riven didn't move a inch "—please?"

Too stubborn to give up, Riven ignored my plea. "If I do it then there's no point. Remember, we came all the way out here to get your guts."

"And how do I get my guts by bungee jumping?" I completely gave up with the straps and decided to give Riven the best you-are-nuts stare.

"You need guts to bungee jump, thus you get guts by the time you jump." Riven imitated and returned the look. His reasoning was completely scrambled. I pursed my lips in frustration . I was not going to learn how to commit suicide. "Don't be a chicken."

"Insane. What if the wire snaps? I would die all by myself down there and haunt you for the rest of your life!" I started to explain all the horrible things that could happen if he forced me to jump.

All I got was a shrug and a, "Yeah, that could happen."

"You want to see me dead that badly?" I stared at him incredulously.

"Nah. I just want you to jump." Riven was definitely laughing sinisterly at my hopelessness deep inside, even though he didn't show the slightest emotion on his face. "And hurry up, would you? It stinks like nature out here." Riven put his hands on an employee standing at his side that looked more uncomfortable at the moment instead of impatient.

"But…How?"

"Trust the world with all your might, and let go."

I scowled at Riven but decided to give up. Besides, hundreds of people had gone bungee jumping before and lived, even though there was the chance that they could have died. If they could do it…so could I…right?

I climbed over the edge to the platform where I was going to take off from. From there, I gazed with fear at the river and stone and rocks five hundred feet below me. I took one last pitiful look at Riven, hoping that he changed his mind at the last moment.

"Have fun!" Riven said farewell, a mocking smirk plastered on his face.

"On my count!" the employee shouted. "Five! Four! Three! Two! One!"

"Jump!" Riven called, his voice ricocheting off the mountain walls.

_Trust the world with all your might, and let go._

Then with one last breath, I took off. I had made up my mind to shut my eyes tightly as I fell but for some reason, once I took off, my body ceased to function as if it went on lockdown. My body froze. It didn't scream. It didn't flail. It did absolutely nothing, but fall.

As I fell, adrenaline exploded throughout my body. The chilly wind, whistling loudly in my ear, picked up, whipped my body as I fell. My heart did a back flip when I rebounded back into the air and I gave a large gasp. I continued to go up and down for a few seconds until I came to a halt. My mind still stayed in a state of lockdown even after I came to a halt so I hadn't noticed the employee pulling me back up till I was halfway there.

"It wasn't that bad," Riven casually stated when we were back in the car and on our way back. "Now you can't say that you're scared anymore."

He was right about that. After the jump, I felt like I came back as a prouder person, an audacious person, someone who couldn't say they are scared. A flame of pride lit up inside of me. I, Flora, formerly timid and afraid, had jumped off a five hundred feet high bridge.

"Despite the risk of death, you jumped. Now, despite the risk of your peaceful life being destroyed, you will play your part tomorrow morning at eight o'clock," he continued.

Riven sure had an extreme way of getting people to obey him. He could have argued against my cowardice but no, he made me bungee jump. I have to say it was an…interesting experience. I guess I had to give him credit for coming up with an out of the box method of accomplishing his goals.

"I will, but before that, I want to go back home, eat and sleep," I breathed tiredly. I experienced two close-to-death moments that day that left me feeling jaded. "Want to eat dinner with me?"

There was a long pause of silence before Riven replied. "About that, I'm eating dinner with your family tonight."

No answer.

* * *

_(1) Nice song by Good Charlotte. We Believe by Good Charlotte. YOUTUBE it and listen to the lyrics for the full effect!_

_Long chapter? I know. _

_I have never bungee jumped, but it is on my list of What To Do Before I Die along with sky diving and seeing a penguin in real life. _

_I don't know how to give my beta her deserved credit. You are awesome! You hear me? Anyways, thank you to anyone who is still following along, and review as always. Good or bad, reviews always help me. Critique is good. Comments are good._

_ I need to be more consistent with my endnotes. _

_Renachi_


	10. Relatives

_Disclaimer: Self-explanatory. Now who want's cookies?_

* * *

**CHAPTER TEN – RELATIVES**

The fact that my little secret about having dinner with her family managed to slip through the cracks for so long was an accomplishment. Then again, I didn't Flora any hints. Anyways, I considered this little secret to be revenge for her telling Mirta about the switch without consulting me beforehand. I had planned to tell her about the dinner days after I was invited so that my revenge would be more effective but somewhere along the way, I felt_ bad_.

God knows why I felt bad, especially for that woman. Maybe it was because the woman was honestly feeling miserable and yet extended a hand of hospitality. Guilt broke my resolve and led me to spilling my secrets. I told her everything while I drove from her sister to the dinner to the reason for the dinner. I didn't regret it.

Flora's sister was called Miele, and according to her, talking with her grandmother for five minutes was impossible without touching upon the subject about love life. She continued explaining her family to me and making plans on what I should say while I kept driving.

"If my grandma asks why we broke up, say…say that Roy wanted to get marry late."

"And that will work?" Flora gave a curt nod.

"If I tell her the truth that Roy was with...that Roy was with another woman, she would blame it on me. And I'm not sure if this will help but if my grandma wears yellow tonight, that means beware, she is in a bad mood."

"Yellow? What should I do if she wears yellow?"

"Be very, very, _very_ discreet with your words."

I pulled up into the gas station stinking with gas fumes and blaring with pop music. The conversation paused while I filled the car up with gas and continued once the nozzle sounded the familiar click. When I was putting the nozzle back where it belonged, a joyous greeting pierced through the gas station music.

"Flora!"

A dark skinned woman enthusiastically waved at me as she made her way closer and closer. A crooked smile appeared on my face. I stole a quick glance at Flora in the car who stared back, flustered, and made began to mouth a bunch of sentences I couldn't make out before sinking back deep in her seat.

_Oh thanks. That helped_.

"Flora! Surprised? I got back from Spain this morning and went to go see you and Musa at your apartment but you weren't there. I didn't think I would find you all the way out here," Layla began when she reached me, a large grin plastered across her face.

"Hehe…yea," I replied, a wry smile with a slight twitch glued on to my face indefinitely. I unconsciously took a small step backwards. A frown fell on the woman's face.

"Oh…I thought you would be more surprised and…well…happy."

"I-I am, it is just—"

"What are you doing all the way over there Layla?"

A familiar voiced called from the direction of the gas station's convenience store. It was a voice I had heard so many times since I met it back in highschool during my freshman year when I entered the football team. It was a voice I hadn't heard since it the last phone call I had with it owner who was visiting Spain. When I whipped my head in the direction of the sound, I was greeted by the face of Nabu, just as I predicted.

"Oh sorry! While you were in the store, I saw the friend I was talking to you about. Flora, meet Nabu," she gave a cordial grin as she made gestures to introduce me.

"Nice to meet you Nabu. I'm Flora." Nabu extended a friendly hand which I gladly accepted with a firm grip.

"Nice to meet you too, Flora. I'm Layla's fiancé."

…_What?..._

A shrill squeak sounded from inside my car. So this was news to Flora too.

"You know Layla, you are being kind of cold. Since we've got back, you have been introducing me as your friend to everyone even though I have already proposed to you and you have accepted," Nabu continued.

"I know, I just thought that it would be too much of a shock for some people close to me like Flora. So I wanted to break it to them gently but every time you end telling them anyways," Layla explained with a roll of her eyes. "Look, Flora is gaping."

Suddenly, sounds of pounding came from my car's door. Looks like the news shocked a significant other too.

"Is your car…possessed?" Nabu worriedly asked, his dark eyebrows narrowing as he glanced at the door.

In response, I kicked the door and replied, "It is just the cat." I forced an enthusiastic grin. More pounding from the car came.

"You have a…hyper cat," Nabu replied. He probably tried to hide what he truly thought but I could still detect the slight disturbed tone in his voice.

"Haha…_very_," I said in a fake happy voice and sent another violent kick at the door to silence the "cat".

"I didn't know you had a cat. Did you got it while I was away?" Layla just made the lie even harder to carry through. Whoever said lies led to more lies was a genius.

"Of course!"

"Can I see it?" Layla asked.

"No! Well, it would be better if you don't. It is kind of vicious…like man-eating vicious," I explained.

_I should be paid for this_.

Layla stared at my car's window, her eyes growing bigger and bigger with confusion. "Your cat is no cat. It's a human unless…you are into that sort of human-pet relationship now."

I quickly whipped around and met pleading violet eyes peeking out from the window's frame. A few moments later, Flora was happily outside with the rest of us grinning, wearing a gigantic hoodie and visor to hide her conspicuous hair and eyes.

"Nice to meet you!" she chirped, excitement coated her husky voice.

"Uh…nice to meet you as well," Layla answered. Her eyebrows drew close and rose up to give her an expression of half-uncertainty and half-curiosity.

"…Riven? What are you doing here?" Nabu surprise was spelled out on his face.

Flora's curled up with false confusion.

"Haha! That's what _I_ want to know," I tried to sweetly voice in an amiable tone. "Haha. Excuseusforasecond."

I didn't get the couple a chance to respond and forcefully dragged Flora to the back of the car by her I got there, I immediately turned to face her and released my grip.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Joining the conversation. It isn't fair. You hadn't seriously expect me to sit obediently in the car while one of my best friends announces that she is engaged to a guy I have never even seen. Just a month ago she was here telling me that she was proud to be single," Flora whined softly below a whisper.

"Yea, except that Nabu is our band's manager and he's a high school friend," I informed.

Dramatic pause. "Oh."

"Yea. You didn't think about that did you?" I growled angrily. "Now what are we supposed to tell them as an excuse to why we are together out here far from the city."

Flora pondered her newly found dilemma for a moment before proposing a resolution. With her chin perched delicately on top of her index finger, she suggested, "Why don't we tell them the truth?"

I rolled my eyes at her thoughtless proposal.

"The truth as in…we switched our damned bodies?" I stated as a matter-of-fact way. Flora nodded with lips pursed. "Let me guess. Then we'll tell them that I we were together because I took you out to bungee jump because you didn't have the courage to be a fake boyfriend in front of Roy who won't stop pestering me every morning? Do you know how long and hard it would be to explain the truth?"

"Well, you just summarize the whole thing in one sentence just," Flora timidly pointed out. An unsatisfied grunt silenced her.

"I don't think so."

"Well, what else can we do?" she asked, her tone desperate and her palms turned upwards, facing me.

I had no answer. There was no alternative. I tried to come up with a convincing excuse.

_I met Flora in her flower shop, became friends, and decided to take a nice adventure outside the city? Ridiculous._

_How about I gave Flora a lift because she was stranded on the side of the street? Even more ridiculous. _

"Fine. We'll tell them the truth. And besides, Nabu would find out eventually if he is the band manager."

Flora showcased a triumphant grin.

"All right, so let's go then." Flora peeked out from behind the car hesitantly at first as if she was equivocating in her mind so I, once again, dragged her out. Layla and Nabu were in a fervent conversation when we showed up but when they noticed our presence, it immediately ended.

"We have something to confess," Deep breath. "My body belongs to this person right here."

I dropped my hands on Flora's shoulders and stared at Layla and Nabu, confident and stern. Flora seemed a bit jumpy when I placed her hands on her shoulders but then followed my lead and delivered a solemn gaze to the couple.

Nabu loudly cleared his throat, cover his face with the back of his hand while he looked to the side while Layla turned redder than a fire truck.

"Err…" she started, flustered. "I didn't think that you were so bold Flora…to say that Riven owned your body and all. I don't agree but if you are already at _that_ stage where you bodies belong to the other then—"

Flora and I realized the hidden meaning in my words and we both yelled out in unison, "No!"

The couple seemed taken aback by our aggressive denial. When they didn't say anything I cleared my throat, feeling a blush crawling up my neck while trying to regain my composure.

"I mean that's not what I meant. I'm literally saying that my body belongs to Flora, this person right here."

"What Riven is saying is that we switched bodies. That's how we know each other. It is a long story on how we got this way but basically we drank something weird that switched us," she gently explained in the most soothing, manly voice she could supply.

Flora's face heated up to a scarlet red an immediately after the explanation, she recoiled and bit her lower lip in anticipation. There was an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds while we just stared at each other, us staring with expectancy, and them staring intensely as if they were trying to read our minds to decode what come out from our mouths.

"You—You can't seriously expect us to believe this," Layla finally spat.

"Riven, what kind of prank is this?" Nabu smirked and turned to Flora. "It isn't really deceiving."

"It isn't a prank," I spat with impatience. Nabu was startled with me answering his question and stared at us with wide eyes, back and forth.

"You guys are really good at acting. You can tell us the truth, you guys are on a date right?"

"No! For the last damn time, we are not lying!"

"I…believe you," Layla softly broke into the dispute.

Nabu changed his focus to Layla with an incredulous gaze. "You do?"

"Yes. It sounds impossible, but I believe them. Flora was always bad at acting so for her to act this well…it's just not possible for her. Plus, if I believe them, then I win the bet."

Nabu drew a long breath, turned to us and said, "I guess I'll believe you two as well based on what Layla said. You win the bet Layla."

Layla exploded with victorius laughter. "You better pay up Nabu."

"A bet?" Flora asked, curious.

Layla continued with a sly grin. "We made a bet to the reason you two were together. Nabu thought that you two were on a date while I betted thought that you two were together because of some other reason. Well, I guess I kind of cheated though. I knew that Flora already had a boyfriend."

Nabu pursed his lip as his indignation showed.

"Not anymore. We broke up a few days ago," Flora informed.

"What? Why?"

"…He cheated on me."

More awkward silence.

"Are you ok?" Worried, Layla carefully inquired, but her worries quickly flared into anger when Flora nodded. "How dare he? God! That scheming, disgusting, vile, disloyal, backstabbing man! I knew that men were horrible, backstabbing, cocky, stubborn, creatures."

"I'm fine Layla! I got over him."

"What about men?" I snarled, obviously offended that she insulted the whole male population just because of one single guy.

"Which part? Horrible? Backstabbing? Cocky? Stubborn?"

Riven paused. "Everything! Aren't you dating a man?"

"Nabu is an exception," she answered with a blunt response in a way that made me feel dumb and ignorant.

"And you proposed to this woman?" I sneaked an incredulous question to Nabu. He gave a weak laugh while Layla propped her hands on her hips and defensively faced me.

"What do you mean this woman? My name is Layla."

"See," I pointed out. "I don't get what you see in her Nabu."

"Wha—" Layla lunged out at Riven but I just coolly glared at, waiting for the anticipated slap that I would block. That slap never came for Flora had pulled Layla back and scolded both of us.

"Stop fighting, please! I know you both have differences, but it is getting late and other people are waiting to fill up their cars with gas. Didn't you hear the honking?"

She pointed to the line of cars behind us with drivers glaring murderously at us that I hadn't noticed before. I just shrugged off the news.

"Whatever," I coolly said. Flora pulled at my sleeve as she telepathically sent me the message_, 'Stop provoking her.' _

"Well, I do because I'm not as selfish and rude as you. Don't think that just because you are in Flora's body right now you can get away with anything. And stop acting so hostile while you are in her body because it is just too weird," she coldly replied.

"Don't worry. I'll only be hostile with you." Layla ignored my response and just rolled her eyes before she turned to Flora with a sugary smile.

"I'll talk to you later Flora. We have to catch up with each other and I need to get used to you being in that jerk's body. Bye!" She entered driver's side of the car (of course), slammed the door, and revved the engine.

Nabu could only quickly say, "I'll talk to you later Riven and it was nice meeting you Flora," before scurrying towards the car.

Flora tugged my sleeve. "Lets go. We still have to plan for your dinner while we drive back." I inwardly groaned at the reminder. I had almost forgotten about _that_. "Next time I have to reconsider putting two chauvinists together in the same place."

ººº

I drew in a deep breath as I nervously pushed the doorbell. As the bells chimed, I tried to wait patiently for the doors to open despite the awkward suspense. Compared to performing on a stage in front of thousands of fans, meeting some stranger's family for the first time was more mind taxing. When the door swung open, I immediately stiffened.

"Flora!" some middle-aged lady sang like a canary before enveloping me in a warm, suffocating hug. "You haven't been home for two months. You should visit more often since you live so close," she gently scolded. I couldn't resist grunting at the irony. Flora's rent's house wasn't extremely far but it wasn't "so close"; it took two hours to drive there.

The minute I took a step into the house, the aroma of fresh bread and pasta slammed into my face and tantalized my taste buds. I found it hard not to drool and changed my mind, thinking it eating dinner with Flora's family wasn't so bad after all.

Flora's mom led me through a tanned walled hallway flooded with light to the dining room where everybody patiently sat. The food was still steaming but the family seemed restless as if they had been waiting for hours. Was I late? My thoughts were quickly forgotten when the whole family exploded with greetings.

"Flora!" her dad—I assumed—cried with a baritone voice as he hopped up and practically jumped on me when attempted to giving me a hug. Oh God. It was frightening how the father was more energetic and effeminate that the mother. "Oh I miss you soooooo much!"

I forced a weak smile while attempting to give an innocuous push away from him to free myself from his bear hug. "It's great to see you again."

"I haven't seen my little pumpkin for such a long time!"

_Little pumpkin? Don't you think your daughter is too old for that embarrasing nickname_?

Regardless of what I thought, I kept grinning till my cheeks became sore.

"So she decides to show up," a bitter voice declared to my right. There stood the Granny with her greasy, salt-and-pepper hair twisted into a tight bun. I quickly check what she wore, a bright yellow and white horizontally striped blouse. I recalled Flora's words of wisdom:

"…_if my grandma wears yellow tonight, that means beware, she is in a bad mood."_

This sadistic world just loved screwing with my life.

"Well, let's sit down and eat shall we?" Mother began as she ushered me to a corner of the rectangular table beside Miele and Granny before dragging her husband to the opposite side of the table and pulling out a chair for him.

Miele gave me a weak nudge. "Be careful. She wearing _yellow_." I inwardly grunted.

"I _know_."

"Flora, will you please do grace?" Mother politely asked with sweet smile. I had to stifle my laugh at the thoughtless perverted joke. _No ma'am. I will not do Grace._

"Of course," I chirped and clasped my hands together. "Will you all bow your heads." I had to pause for moment to think of what to say because I had never prayed for a family before a meal much less prayed in public. I recalled past prayers I had heard before and tried to repeat them.

"Dear God, may we have a…delicious…meal, and may our stomachs digest well…with their gastric acid. Thank you for gastic acids. Amen." Then I hesitantly opened my eyes, hoping that I had said an adequate prayer. Unfortunately, I didn't.

"What kind of pitiful prayer was that? When I brought you up, I swore that I taught you had to say a decent prayer before dinner," Granny harshly criticized.

"_Be very, very, very discreet with your words."_

I had to bite my tongue to prevent myself from lashing out at her.

"Flora is probably tired Grandma. Cut her some slack," Miele coaxed in a wary manner. Grandma huffed and grunted in reply.

"I will this time as long as Flora tells us what is going on with that boy—"

_Ladies and gentlemen, here comes the big question of the night._

"Ah! Why don't we serve the food? It is getting cold after all," Mother clumsily interrupted. She hurriedly reach out for a basket of freshly baked bread that was flavored with various spices and started passing it around the table.

"Gloria, don't rudely cut into the conversation like that," Granny reprimanded in that uneven, jittery voice of hers with a trembling index finger raised.

"Yes. I understand Grandma so let's eat."

"As long as you understand." We proceeded to serve ourselves and I happily cheered inside because it was plain torture just staring at the steaming food. Bread baked with thyme, pesto, tossed salad, olives, and grilled chicken, just a small portion of food that laid out on the table. Mother sure was an amazing cook.

"When did you stop being vegetarian Flora?" Miele sent curious glances at my plate filled with a mountain of food and a piece of speared chicken on my fork that I aimed towards my mouth.

"Oh…um…just recently." _Aw._ Flora hadn't told me that she was a veggie. Luckily I easily covered that little lie up.

"You know what also happened recently?" Granny asked, waiting for a curious "What?" to amuse her but when no one responded, she cleared her throat and continued. "Flora broke up with that boyfriend of hers."

"Mom," Father dangerously growled. "We said that we wouldn't talk about that, remember?"

"Not talk about it? If we don't talk about it now then when will we ever. I haven't even had one great-grandchild yet and I'm not getting any younger! She's twenty-three, almost twenty-four. And she still isn't married!" Granny retorted.

"My sweet, Flora doesn't need to get married so young. She can get married at forty."

"Fo-Forty!" She choked on her works and a flabbergasted look fell upon her face. To me, even the age of forty seemed too old for a woman.

"Honey, forty is a bit…" Mother started with an uncomfortable grimace.

"How will I ever get my twelve grandchildren if the oldest one gets married at forty?" I gagged on my food. Sixteen grandchildren! Oh God. Oh Grandma! So basically Flora and Miele had to bear six grandchild each. Insane.

"Mother!" He banged the table with his fist with a permanent scowl plastered on his face. The tension the dining room by then was almost palpable. "Haven't you given up on your whole dream of a big family yet? It is the modern age. No one has that many children anymore," Father aggressively pointed out.

Letting out a huge sigh, Miele slapped her forehead in frustration and mumbled, "This family is ridiculous." Her attention wandered off to a dark window.

"Flora agrees with me, right honey?" Granny threw an expectant, harsh glance my way and Father immediately did the same with softer, gently persuasive eyes. I cursed under my breath at the two for putting me on the stop.

"Well, it is a bit too early to say," I weakly replied, giving guilty glances at both parties.

"Which is basically euphemism for saying no," Father concluded with a final huff. Granny shrugged off her son's rude line and kept her firm eyes on me. Before her son could even utter a compliant, she dropped the big bomb that I had been anticipating all night.

"Why don't you tell us what exactly happened with that darling, Roy? Tell me that Facebook is wrong."

I drew in a deep breath and prepared myself to answer the question I had been expecting all time. "Roy said he wanted to marry late so we broke up." I advertised a confident grin, hoping that the smile would earn some points in the honesty category.

"Bah!" Father grunted. "I knew that guy was bad since the beginning."

"Honey, you think that every guy Flora dated was bad since the beginning. You tried to chase them all away," Mother reminded her husband before quickly shoving more pasta in her mouth to avoid his accusing stare.

"That was because every guy my pumpkin dated was bad."

"More like you never gave any guy she dated a chance," Grandma obnoxiously scoffed. "You're just like your father. That's why Antonia had to elope. It was tragic how that man died during military service before he could give her a baby. Now, what I really don't get is why Antonia went to the sperm bank to impregnate herself rather than coming back home. Blah! Either way we still met Flora anyhow." A solemn countenance settled on her aged face. My eyebrows rose with bewilderment as I paused in mid-chew to listen to Granny ramble on about some story.

Father fell into silence after that remark and began rearranging the food on his plate, which he was staring at with great intensity.

The whole story with that Antonia character left me confused and I started wondering what tie Flora had to that woman. Either way we still met Flora anyhow? What the hell did that mean?

"Anyways, Flora, I understand the reason why you broke up with Roy," Granny cooed in a sympathetic tone. "I'm sure that you have gotten another boyfriend already, yes?" Father's eyes flew up and brightened up apprehensively. I could almost hear him whispering, "No."

"Yes." My eyes grew wide when I realized my reply. _What the hell did I just say? _Grandma lit up and Father's head dropped in defeat. "I mean no." The reactions did a three-sixty.

"Flora?" Miele whispered, staring at me once again in confusion. I assumed that she was starting to get suspicious on whether I was healthy and eating my vegetables. Things were not going well for me so far.

"I mean yes."

"Yes?" they all chanted in unison like an orchestra.

"Yes."

"Who?" Grandma eagerly asked, sparkling with the enthusiasm of a little girl. I reprimanding myself for not expecting that obvious question. _Quick! Think of a name, any name!_

"Riven."

"Riven! You mean Riven from The Specialists?" Miele exploded.

_Aw…shit._

"Riven from The Specialists?" Grandma queried as she turned to Mother, brimming with curiosity.

"Um…he's the drummer from a well known band."

Grandma hummed, looking impressed.

"No he isn't. It is a different Riven," I quickly replied. A flash of disappointment crossed Miele's face that was so brief that I almost didn't catch. _No more questions, no more question, no more question_, I repeated the phrase over and over like a mantra.

"Then why don't you bring him over during our Thanksgiving dinner and introduce him to us," Grandma happily chirped. "I would love to meet this Riven of yours.

"I don't," Father grumbled, slouching in his chair.

"O-On second thought," I stammered, "he does look a bit like Riven from The Specialists but he is totally—I repeat, totally—different from the Riven from the Specialist."

"I would love to meet Riven too!" Miele chirped.

I sighed when I realized that I built up Miele's expectations by saying that my non-existing boyfriend—I shuddered at using the word—looked like the real Riven from the famous band. I turned to Mother, thinking that I might as well listen to her, "I want to meet him too," face to face.

"I would like to him too."

That elicited another sigh.

I knew it.

"I…guess…I could bring him over on Thanksgiving."

I hadn't even intended to go visit the family ever again but turns out that I landed myself with another visit, this time one involving Flora. The fates screwed me over, literally. I tried to think like Flora for a second and be optimistic. Maybe she woman would easily comply with my wishes. After all, she had to pretend to be my boyfriend in front of her ex. Why couldn't she pretend to be my boyfriend in front of her family?

At the end of the dinner, I was sent off with suffocating hugs and smacking kisses. By the time I arrived back home, it was already around eleven and I had no more energy to clean myself up.

"Woah there. Are you ok Flora?" Musa worriedly asked when I staggered into the apartment and immediately headed towards the bed.

I dropped down on the bed and groaned. I couldn't even relax while eating my damn dinner. Why did I have to constantly be on tenterhooks. Keeping up a lie took work. I wonder if Flora felt the same way.

"No, we aren't."

* * *

_Flora's family reminds me of my own, not because my grandma (I have no more living grandparents anyways) wants me to have babies or because my dad is affectionate (far from it...my dad is cold), but because my family is tiring just like Flora's. My family bickers a lot and argues. You just gotta love your nerve-wracking family. Reviews are delicious._

_Renachi_


	11. Enigma

_Disclaimer: I'm not Ignio Straffi._

* * *

**CHAPTER ELEVEN – ENIGMA**

I was a bundle of nerves while I stood in front of the apartment. I had just recently realized when I reached the door of the apartment that there was a slight hole in the whole plan about pretending to be the fake lover: Musa would see me. I speedily texted Riven my new predicament.

_I am here right now, but first can you find a way to get Musa out?_

Much to my surprise, a few seconds later, the door swung open, barely missing my forehead by a hair. "Come on in," Riven nonchalantly greeted me wearing an unattractive, baggy shirt with black shorts.

"But Musa—"

"Isn't in right now. She's been leaving every in morning to do something for the past few days."

I let out a thankful breath. "Oh thank god, but why?"

"Don't know. I think she's practicing for some audition," Riven replied with just a brief shrug.

"Really? I wonder what she's busy with."

"Well, wonder later. Come in. Your stupid boyfriend comes at 8:15 every day, right on the dot. You chose a dedicated and punctual one," Riven sarcastically grumbled as I took a step in and he closed the door behind me. I narrowed my frustrated eyes at him.

"He isn't my boyfriend."

"Oh. _Ex._ My bad."

Letting out an angry huff, I looked around the apartment, thinking that it would look different, that Riven would have left his mark and rearranged how it looked like, but nothing changed. Returning to your home as a visitor was a queer experience. I experience ambivalence; the place felt foreign but at the same time, it felt comfortable.

"Have you eaten breakfast?" I noticed how the counters of the kitchen sparkled and how there wasn't a single plate resting in the dish rack.

"Yea."

"What did you eat?"

"A few slices of bread."

Unsatisfied, I frowned. "That can't be healthy."

He shrugged. "Bread is filling."

"It's filling if you're duck."

"Whatever. It's too much work to cook one a meal just for myself and then clean it up," Riven argued before plopping his body on the couches like a rock with his arms and legs spread wide on the cushion. "Anyways, that's not important right now."

I resigned and sat down next to him, keeping my legs tightly together. "Ok, but can you please," I started, staring uncomfortably at his spread out legs, "keep your legs together? At least try to sit like a girl…please?"

"I will when you start sitting like a guy." His deep green eyes drifted to my legs, which had mutated from a cross-legged position to some complicated twist-legged position. Embarrassed, I immediately unwound my legs and spread them a little wider despite the awkwardness that came with it.

"A-Anyways,what are we going to say to…"

"Your ex," Riven helpfully finished for me.

"Yes. Exactly."

"I don't know. That's why we have fifteen—" He stole a quick glance at the clock on the wall "—now ten…I mean nine—minutes to figure it out?"

"Should I stand next to you when the door opens?" I timidly proposed.

"Sure."

"Should I just tell him right from the start that I am your 'boyfriend'?"

"Sure."

"Should I cut him off and don't let him talk then shut the door on his face?"

"Sure."

"Are you listening to me?"

"Sure."

"Am I fat?" I experimented with a witty question.

"Sure."

"_Riven_," I whined, stomping my legs like a frustrated child.

"What?" A mischievous smirk inched its way across his face. "I thought you were talking about your body? You have a big butt. It makes putting on jeans harder every morning."

A green plush pillow at him flew at Riven's head and Riven caught it easily. He didn't miss the angry scowl on my face and somehow, that incited him to annoy me further. "Big butt and big bust. I wouldn't think that your pair would be a—"

"Riven." I whined again, now with a pout and crossed arms. "You were the one who wanted to do this."

"Yea. Sorry, sorry," he indifferently said, using a tone that wasn't the least bit apologetic. "Anyways, I suggest we just go with the flow. We open the door, you just say whatever is on your mind, then we shut the door. There! Done!"

I stared at him, feeling like a retard for worrying and fussing. "That's all? There was no point with me coming twenty minutes earlier."

"What do you mean no point? These twenty minutes are for you to release your anxiety, and it worked."

I pondered what Riven said for a second or two. Well, he was right that I wasn't as tense as before when I had arrived at the door and I did feel more…not relaxed but assured or anything but anxious.

It then occurred to me that Riven got my angry on purpose. By getting me angry, he managed to get my mind off of Roy for a second and convert all of my apprehension to annoyance. What he did was a weird concept, but it worked. Again, Riven had accomplished his goal in an out-of-the-box manner. Riven was weird.

"You're right," I whispered, letting my amazement conquer me.

"As always." Riven smirked again. His cocky attitude never failed to make its appearance. "We have four more minutes."

I gasped slightly and whipped my head at him so suddenly that Riven's eyebrows jumped for a moment. "Oh yes," I chirped. "How could I forget? What happened last night with my family?"

He stayed quiet for a moment as he tried to come up with words to say, words to match his complicated expression.

"I feel sorry for the guy who marries into your family."

"What happened?"

My muscles curled at the anticipation while Riven, giving a deep sigh, started, "Well about that—"

_Ding Dong!_

"He's here," Riven stated the obvious in a matter-of-fact manner. My body tensed up at the ring of the doorbell and I started to doubt if I could even stand up from the couch. Unlike me, Riven, calm and cool, had no problem with moving .

_Ding Dong!_

Meanwhile, I sat, frozen, on the couch cushion. Slowly, my body curled up into a ball and settled on its side on the couch, while my throat went dry I felt parched and my heartbeat quickened. A tinge of red settled on my cheeks and I wondered if it had always been so hot and suffocating in the apartment.

Riven had realized at some time while he was walking to the door that I wasn't following him and now started back towards the couch. "What are you doing get up." I felt hot tears tickle the back of my eyes and I rolled my eyes up to hold back the urge to cry.

_Dingdong! Dingdong! Dingdon!_

"Flora," Riven growled. "Get up before I have to pick you up." Riven didn't need to tell me that because I knew fully well I had to get up, that I needed to somehow get myself to the door even if I had to crawl. But my body wouldn't cooperate. _Come on Flora! Get yourself together._

"Get up. I thought you said you were over him?" Riven was spot on. I was over him or was I? I finally understood what I truly felt. I was over Roy but not in the way that he didn't have any effect on me anymore. I had given up on getting back together with him, but Roy still occupied a corner of my heart through memories. The fact that he still meant something to me was precisely why my reaction to his appearance was so dramatic.

I feared cutting Roy from my heart even if he was a jerk, throwing away those three years of precious memories with him in the trash bin. I resisted filing the past away in dusty cabinets deep in my memory. I innately refused to end the story.

After experiencing that epiphany, I suddenly regained control of my body. I used my arms to try to push myself into a sitting position, but instead, I accidently rolled myself off the couch and landing with a thud and a squeak as my hip met the ground.

"Ow," I groaned.

"You done?" I let out a terse sniff and got up from the ground.

"Mhm."

When the door swung open, dark eyes met my violet ones.

"Flo, can you—Who the hell—Riven?—What the…" It was safe to say that Roy was scared out of his pants.

"Greetings dear Roy! Meet my new boyfriend!" Riven declared with false enthusiasm in a high, syrupy voice.

"What kind of joke is this Flora?" Roy raised a flirty brow.

A sly smile stretched across Riven's face. I could almost hear the gears Riven's sadistic mind creak and groan. "No joke sweetie! Teddy Bear here, is my boyfriend. Ask him for yourself."

I had to suppress a grimace that threatened to enter my face when Riven passed the talking baton over to me. Roy turned to me for confirmation with hope, hopes that I had to crush. I tried my best to erase the images of Roy in bed with other countless of other women, and drew in a deep breath.

"I'm her boyfriend," I shakily stated.

Roy narrowed his eyes dangerously at me."Lies."

I nervously gulped and repeated the lie. "I'm her boyfriend."

"Then prove it," Roy sternly demanded, his questioning eyes peering at us from below his lower eyelids.

Riven smirked devilishly. "Actions speak louder than words. Will a kiss convince you?"Eyes widened, breaths quickened, and Riven and I broke up out in cold sweat.

"Y-yea."

"Which level? The peach, prune, or alfalfa?" Riven replied, confident without a hint of hesitation in his tone.

Roy's looked stunned by seeing Riven's behavior in my body. "Uhh…alfalfa."

"Alfalfa coming right up."

I sneaked a surprised glance at him. Was he serious? Was he kidding? What was Riven thinking? I decided that he was serious when he tugged the end of my shirt and mouthed the words, 'Come on'.

I awkwardly turned towards him while giving side glances at Roy wearing a shocked expression full of pain. It pained me to do something as hateful as kissing a fake lover just to scare Roy away. I just didn't have the heart in me to do such a thing, plus, kissing Riven under such condition when he was in my body was just…awkward. I mean, I didn't want to kiss my own lips. Even fake boyfriends had their limits.

Even though I thought all that, I didn't move when Riven went on his tiptoes and framed my face in his hands. As his head leaned toward me, I suddenly became aware of everything on his face as they enlarged. I saw aspects of my original face that I had never noticed before with a mirror: the gentle slope of my dainty nose, soft curve of my jaw, and my soft, rosy lips. I caught my breath abruptly. He continued to close the space between us until only a strip of light could enter the space between our lips when I decided NO.

"WAIT! Wait! Stop! _Flora!" _I had to forcefully push Riven's body away. I took one big, sudden step backwards with a desperate expression and turned to Flora, who was looking mighty pissed. "This is absurd. Why do we have to do this to prove our relationship, right Flora?"

"Sure," Riven grunted. Roy let out a relieved sigh and tossed Riven a loving glance and Riven's face contorted with annoyance.

"Flora, that guy obviously doesn't think that much about you so come back to me."

Then something probably snapped.

"Go back to you? Why?" I firmly demanded, giving Roy a frightening glare.

"Because I am better than you," Roy replied, undaunted, and then turned back to Riven with a sweet smile. "Give up on this guy Flora. Rockstars aren't stable boyfriends anyways. He'll cheat on you."

"Says the guy who cheated on her." Roy's expression darkened threateningly, but I continued, "You cheat on her and then want her to come back to you. Don't think that is too much?"

He opened his mouth to retaliate but I didn't plan to give him a chance to speak.

"Roy you think that you deserve to come back to win her back when you don't sincerely actually want her back. You are just coming back to save your pride because you wanted to be the one to break up. Right?"

Judging from the guilty face Roy put on, I was spot on. I took a deep breath. _I'm going to do it. I'm going to fight back._

"Love is selfish. I accept that, but your love is extremely selfish. It's a fraud. The worst part is that I bet you had planned to break up with Flora before she discovered that you were with other women behind her back. You never expected her to find out, but she did. Flora finally realized that somewhere along the way, the relationship she had with you had beacome fake, so she decided to break up. You took advantage of her, but here you are crawling back. Am I right?"

"You did?" Roy whispered the question to Riven in disbelief, and Riven responded with a curt shake of the head.

"Roy, give up. Flora is dumping you for good. You can keep trying but don't you think Riven's New Girlfriend Harassed By Ex would make a juicy headline?"

Frozen in shock, Roy managed to muttered a few disconnected words, "Uh..No...I..You Wouldn't..Dare…"

"Dare me." Roy finally broke and dashed off. A few seconds later, I could hear the low groan of an engine staring. When I heard the car tires driving away and growing faint, I let out a sigh, releasing all the tension in my body all at once.

Riven turned to look at me and gulped. I saw respect rise on his face.

Or was that fear?

"Nice speech. You were like an attorney from Hell," he coolly commented. "Is that you when you are mad?"

"No. That's me when I am a miffed."

Riven whistled. "I don't want to be there when you get mad."

"Thanks."

"So—are you crying?" Riven grimaced.

I hadn't noticed that streams of tears had started down my cheek after Roy left. I turned my head away to hide my expression behind I clean my tearstained face.

"No." I anticipated Riven scolding me on how I shouldn't cry and ruin his "flawless" face but I got no response. When I took at peek at him, an apathetic face met me. "You are not going to scold me?"

"You want me to?" Riven cocked aneyebrow.

I hurriedly corrected myself, "No, no. That's ok." I turned my heel around and headed inside. "Now let's make you that breakfast and you need to tell me what happened last night."

Over a plate of cinnamon rolls, waffles, and ordered pizza, we discussed about what took place the night before. I choked on my orange juice when Riven told me that he told my family that he was dating "Riven".

"And they want us to come for Thanksgiving," he continued.

"Oh dear."

"It shouldn't be that bad. You've already proved that you could play the part of the fake boyfriend this morning," Riven pointed out. "I don't see what is wrong."

"Roy won't blabber the lie that we are dating to anyone. If Grandma finds out that 'Flora' is dating the famous 'Riven', then she'll announce it to the whole world as breaking news on the MNN," I pointed out as my lips pursed.

I couldn't believe that he actually said something so troublesome, and so I worried. When it came to my family meeting my "boyfriends", things didn't turn out pretty.

"That's why I told them that the 'Riven' that was my boyfriend was actually a look-alike," he calmly explained. "It'll be fine. We both have different personalities."

"What if they don't buy that?"

"They will," Riven replied with firm confidence. "You will wear a wig, colored contacts, and geeky clothes. We will turn you into a hermaphrodite if we have to. Trust me. They won't suspect a thing."

I sighed and decided to trust Riven because he was confident, honest, competent, and well...trustworthy. I just hoped that his disguise plan would actually work. After finishing, I offered to wash up but Riven curtly rejected my offer and told me to hurry back home so I wouldn't run into Musa.

So I politely took my leave and drove back home. Out of curiosity, I decided to go on Facebook and was greeted by the notice…

**Roy is now single.**

I threw myself a little party.

ººº

So it turns out that Brandon lived a rich lifestyle like Helia and Riven. I should have known.

Instead, I was once again shocked when I pulled up to Brandon's flat for his birthday celebration. It was an expensive studio house, which stood in stark contrast to the humble abode that I had been expecting. His house once again reminded me of my measly paycheck.

I suddenly grew embarrassed at my meager present, a simple giftcard to a nearby Italian restaurant. When it came to the time to pick out a birthday present, I founded myself dumbfounded on what to give. At first, I considered an expensive tie or fountain pen since I had the money to buy one. After the body switch, Riven and I had come to a fair compromise to split his horrendously huge paycheck until we returned to our bodies. Our compromise left me with a lump of unspent cash.

In the end, I decided not to give a tie or fountain pen. I reasoned that Brandon probably wouldn't use a tie I bought or a fountain pen. So, with a sigh, I resigned to give him a pathetic giftcard. I didn't feel too proud at that moment.

After I rang the doorbell, I stood and listened to the loud music and chattering on the other side of the door. Helia told me it was a small gathering with only close friends, meaning most of the people invited knew the "secret", so I didn't have to worry one bit. Nevertheless, I still felt excited, but scared.

The door flung open to reveal Brandon in a conservative white dress shirt and dark jeans. "Riven—I mean Flora! It's still hard to get used to the switch. Glad you could make it."

He laughed and invited me inside. Sounds of glasses clinging and hearty laughter played.

"Am I late?"

"No. Riven still hasn't arrived. Oh, and I heard that you were worried on who would be here. Don't worry because there are only two people here that you don't know. Nabu, our band manager, and his girlfriend, Layla," Brandon considerately informed me. A smile played on my lips with amusement.

"I know them already. Riven and I met them at a gas station. Layla is actually a close friend of mine, and they _know_."

"Then that saves some troubles." The corner of Brandon's mouth turned up into a quirky smile to match mine.

"And happy birthday!" I handed over a small envelope with the string of a blue balloon taped to it. I had written the words "Happy Birthday Brandon" and hearts in fancy script on the balloon.

"Thanks. You know, Riven never gave adorable presents like these. The most he has ever given to me was a giftcard." I squirmed uncomfortably.

"Umm…but that is a giftcard."

"Oh. I meant the balloon with hearts."

I blushed and uneasily laughed as I regarded the balloon awkwardly. I gave myself a mental slap.

_Stupid Flora._

I couldn't help but burst out in happiness and relief over the fact that everyone at the party knew it was me. That meant that I didn't have to keep up a pretense and lie to cover up my secret. I hated to lie. I would be great if I could just honestly tell the world the truth without any repercussions. Too bad the world didn't work that way.

"Flora!" Layla immediately greeted.

"Flora!" a louder and more zealous voice called.

I couldn't dodge the incoming tackle some stranger delivered a second later. Blush crept to my cheeks at being suddenly glomped. My eyes trailed down to the stranger's silky, blonde hair the fell down her back like a waterfall. Strong perfume and lavender shampoo invaded my senses.

"Oops, and I forgot about her," Brandon guilty whispered.

"Brandon," the stranger whined, still holding on to me. "Are you sure that this is a girl? She still feels the same when I hug her. She doesn't really smell like a girl or anything. Look! No boobs." She boldly planted her hands on my chest to my humiliation.

"Stella, they switched bodies, not sexes. Just because the person inside is a girl doesn't mean that she smells like one," Timmy voice explained with an amused grin. "You should take off your hands."

"Oops," the female voice said, quickly removing her touch. I glanced at her with confusion as she blinked her amber eyes innocently.

"W-Who?" I asked, flustered.

"I'm Stella, this hunk's girlfriend!" Stella planted a smacking smooch on Brandon's cheek and started snuggling with him. I quickly turned my head and blushed at her public display of affection.

"Brandon had a girlfriend?" I asked. I couldn't recall Musa saying that Brandon was currently dating. In fact, I couldn't recall Musa saying that any of The Specialists ever dated.

"Shh…" Brandon whispered with a sly smirk as stroked Stella's golden hair. "It's our big secret."

"You mean like our whole preposterous secret on how we switched body? Too bad you told your girlfriend without even telling _us_, the people involved in the secret," a voice began. When I turned to it, there stood Riven with a permanent scowl on his face and crossed arms.

"Yea…sorry about that," Brandon messily apologized, which made me question his sincerity.

"Don't bully snookums!" Stella indignantly huffed. She released herself from Brandon's embrace. "I wanted to use you for one of my winter shoots, but Brandon ended up breaking the secret to me while trying to tell me that I couldn't use you. So now I'm using you for my spring shoot and—You!" Stella pointed at Riven in my body.

"Huh?" Riven breathed with indifference.

"The body, the eyes, the hair! Perfecto! Model for me!" Stella forcefully demanded.

"I won't even be in this body by spring. Ask the real owner." Riven pointed at me and I felt myself shrinking when Stella's intense gaze landed on me.

"Model for me?"she tried again.

"I-I can't really model," I said with uncertainty.

"But—"

"Now, now sweetheart, the spring shoot is far away. You have plenty of chances to ask later," Brandon interrupted. I sighed in relief and mumbled thanks to Brandon. "Anyways, I have to apologize to both of you. I shouldn't have told the secret no matter what."

I shook my head. "It's totally fine."

"Of course," Riven sarcastically spat. "It's not like that was the first time someone told the secret without informing me first, right _Flora_?" He glared at me and I guiltily recoiled. He was referring to the Mirta incident. So he did remember. "What kind of secret is this when…one…two…eleven people, freaking eleven people, know about this?"

_Eleven people? _I started to count: _Flora, Riven, Faragonda, Griffin, Helia, Timmy, Brandon, Mirta, Stella, Nabu, and Layla._

Riven let out a brief breath and continued when no one spoke. "Not a good secret."

"How did you get in the house anyways?" Brandon asked with curiosity.

"You left the door unlocked."

"Oh."

"And happy birthday," he unceremoniously announced.

I excused myself from the conversation and wandered to the food counter where cheese cubes, finger sandwiches sat on crystal plates. Inviting wine bottles crowded at the side of the counter, but I steered clear of them. The last time I thought I drank beer ended up with me waking up in a guy's body.

I plucked a cheddar cheese cube and plopped it in my mouth before Helia greeted me.

"Hey Flora."

"Hi." I gave a wry smile. My eyes studied Helia for a second. Tonight, there was something different about him that I couldn't place.

"Enjoying the party?"

"Well, I wouldn't say enjoy, but I've learned a bunch of new things during the party like how Brandon is dating," I explained. Helia laughed, his eyes still transfixed on me.

"Brandon and Stella. They are a rather intimate couple. Riven hates their PDA."

"Layla probably thinks the exact way."

"Those two have been together before we debuted."

"Really? I never knew."

"That's because Brandon and Stella had to keep their relationship a secret when the band started. Dating became a strict and tiring occasion for them. They also pretended they broke up when they were still together," Helia informed.

My eyebrows crinkled. "Why would they need to do that?"

A look of uneasy passed across Helia's face. Its visit was so brief, I almost missed it, and when I looked closely at his countenance again, a benevolent smile was back on.

"Reasons." That didn't quench my curiosity at all but I decided to give up. I didn't want to seem like a busybody.

"Um, excuse me. I need to go to the bathroom. You know where it is?" I coyly smiled. Helia pointed down the hallway to my right.

"At the end of the hallway to your left…so…you already know how to aim."

"Huh?"

"You know…down there?"

I blushed crimson before scampering down the hall to the bathroom. When I got there, I closed the door shut and locked it. For a few seconds, I enjoyed the darkness and concentrated on the thin beam of light coming out from the gap between the door and floor.

What kind of complications would cause Stella and Brandon to hide their reactions? The more deeply involved I got in the band's affairs, the more confused I got.

And Riven.

Riven was a whole mystery to me at times. He seemed to have some whole background involving hating his own birthday. Did it have to do with his mother? He did say that his mom abandoned him.

Now that I thought it about it, Riven wasn't such a big enigma after all. Compared to Helia he acted more open, or at least he did that time when he easily poured out his whole life story that time in the kitchen when he wore an apron. But compared to Helia, it is definitely harder to predict Riven's thoughts, ideas, and actions. Maybe Riven was spontaneous? I grumbled in frustration from thinking too hard. If women were confusing to men, then men were baffling to women.

I gave up trying to reason out the "Specialist" mysteries and took care of nature's business.

When I walked out, I found myself taken aback by the squeals, specifically Stella's squeals.

"Riven! You're drunk!"

"No! I am fairy from Wasbsadfasy, dammit!" Riven's voice loudly slurred. I blinked twice and watched a staggering Riven. Then he began to sing loudly like a drunk, "Shalalalala! My OH my! Looks like the boy's too shy! Ain't gonna kiss the girl!"

Helia rushed to offer Riven a supportive arm. Riven lazily glanced up at Helia and gave him a smacking smooch on the lips. I stood frozen before Helia rudely dropped Riven in surprise. Riven went out like a light bulb.

"I thought Riven had a high alcohol tolerance," Brandon began. Helia

"He does. Flora's body doesn't." Timmy probably noticed my appearance from the corner of his eye because he turned to me and asked, "Do you have a high alcohol tolerance?"

"Definitely," I cringed as Riven fumbled as he got back up, fall, then pass out again.

_I am never going to drink._

"How much did he drink?" I asked.

"A sip?" Helia answered while touching his lips with a pensive expression as if he was considering something important before rubbing it. Hard.

"Someone needs to drive the guy home," Layla pointed out with bitterness lining her voice. "And we're not doing it," she added. "Right Nabu?"

"Layla—" Nabu started before Layla angrily glared at him at him. "I guess I'm not doing it."

"I guess I will then," I volunteered.

I had a debt I needed to repay to Riven anyways. On the night when we had switched bodies, I hadn't realized that Riven had graciously driven me to his house. He could have left me at the bar as easy prey to any stranger, but he didn't. Now it was my turn to take care of him.

On the side note, my car—and for now Riven's—magically reappeared by the apartment when Riven accused Griffin of stealing it and threatened to report her to the authorities. It had been missing ever since Riven took me out of the bar in his car, leaving my car sitting somewhere out there.

"You will?" Helia asked with disbelief. I thought I sensed jealousy from him, but quickly dismissed the thought.

"Yep," I happily answered. "I can't?"

"Oh no. You can but I don't think it is safe to bring him home in that condition. Things would get suspicious and I heard that right now he is rooming with another person." I had completely forgotten about Musa.

"Hmm. Then I'll let him sleep at my place for the night."

"Are you sure that it's safe? You're a girl."

"Well, I'm not really a girl right now am I?" I cheerfully grinned with amusement. I walked over to Riven who laid on the ground and propped his arm around my shoulders.

"It isn't safe…because…because he's a girl," Helia blurted out. I almost dropped Riven because the embarrassing line and shot Helia a bewildered gaze. Brandon who was taking a sip of his drink, spurted it out and started in a fits of laughter.

"You think she's going to rape Riven!" Brandon howled. Helia turned red when he realized the meaning of what he said.

"I'm not going to pounce on him. I'm still a girl know you," I mumbled and turned my red face away from view.

"Well, you never know," Brandon teased in a hoarse voice between his laughs. I ignored him and started towards the exit.

"Anyways, I'll see you all some other time."

I had expected dragging Riven out to be a tiring task, suprsingly enough, Riven was light. I shouldn't have be so surprised since he wasn't a guy anymore. Getting used to the sudden attainment of brawn on my part took some time.

_So this is how a guy feels when he lifts a girl._

I was learning new things everyday while I lived as Riven.

When I got back home, I placed Riven in the bed and tucked him into bed. I opted to sleep on the couch. To my frustration, my body tossed in turned, not being able to go to sleep for a the first few hours. I had inconveniently become self-aware that a guy was sleeping just a few meters away from me, and it caused me to stay awake. However, eventually, with the leathery couch underneath me and a soft blanket on top, I silently dozed off to dreams containing flying wineglasses and talking balloons.

* * *

_Augh. 100 days is a long period of time to write for, and I'm hardly at the half-point for this story, but I'm having fun writing this. I like you, yes you. So review. __Review and tell me what you think._

___Renachi_


	12. Teetotalism

_Disclaimer: Same old, same old. You should google teetotalism._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWELVE – TEETOTALISM**

"Helia, I always knew you had a thing or two for me." I smirked. Helia looked at me as if I had said he was gay. Ironically, _that_ was exactly what I was hinting at.

"Excuse me?" he asked in a incredulous tone. I motioned towards the retreating figure of Flora.

"You were eyeing my body with those undressing eyes."

Helia scowled and looked away. I cheered and amused myself at finding something to tease him about as revenge for all the past teasing I had gotten from him. I waited for him to vehemently deny my claim, but it never came. Helia did the unexpected, the unprecedented.

"You are right," he started, a wide smile stretching across his face in a disturbing manner, "I did." He paused for a dramatic effect and to watch my horrified expression.

Helia wasn't serious was he? But, he didn't stutter or divert his eyes, giveaways to show that you are lying.

"Lying."

"Try me."

Helia was…gay? Of course. Everyone fell into place. I knew that no straight guy could have such silky hair. So Helia liked me. Damn. It wasn't even April Fools.

Helia continued when I saw my speechlessness. "I've always been attracted to you but you've always been so aggressive. Now that Flora is in your body, maybe I will have a chance with your…flesh." He glanced at me with lewd eyes.

"Helia, you—you better not do anything to her! I know my body is attractive, but it is my holy, sacred, untouchable, damn body."

"And if I don't? It's hard to resist that toned body of yours."

I growled in the lowest voice I could manage and glared at him with malice, hoping that my murderous look would make up for the strength I lacked in my current body. Unfortunately, I probably came off as a hissing kitten rather than a vicious lion

Helia grinned. "Calm down. I was just kidding. I'm such a great actor aren't I?" Incredulity erupted. Helia pointed at me and burst out laughing. "I can't believe you bought that."

"Whatever."

_Note to self: Never trust Helia with his unreadable face again. _

"It wasn't all a lie though"

"You're gay?" Helia rolled my eyes, probably annoyed at my insistency on the fact.

"No."

"Bi?"

"No."

"…Pedophile?"

"No."

"…Animals?"

"…That's just sick and insulting. I was staring at Flora with…" Helia trailed off, trying to come up with the right word. His eyes wandered off as he thought.

"Undressing."

"Longing eyes," Helia swiftly corrected.

I stared at him, emotionless and empty eyed before breaking out in a laugh. "Don't tell me you think Flora in a guy body is attractive."

"I do." I froze. "I think she is my first love."

There were two things Helia could have meant with that response. Perhaps he meant that he had just fell in love for the first time in twenty-three years with Flora. That would explain why he never expressed explicit interest in girls.

Maybe he meant that Flora was a girl from his past, a childhood first who captured his heart in the springtime of blossoming youth.

Or maybe he was just screwing with me.

"How?"

"It's complicated." Helia ran his hand through his luscious hair, calmly explaining with a sick, dreamy, passionate fire in his eyes.

"And…you just realized she was your first love when…"

"When she told me her mother's name."

"What the—"

"Like I said, it is complicated, but I'm glad I found her."

I sighed when I witnessed Helia fly off to honeymoon planet, the destination for unfortunate individuals struck by cupid's arrow.

"Stop dude. No more about your love life. Anyways, have you guys planned on how to deal with the band's schedule yet?"

Helia snapped out of his disturbing love state. If Helia and Flora became the next Brandon and Stella when they hooked up, I was not going to look forward to the future.

"I've given Flora the new schedule already. All performances, interview, and events involving you were cancelled, and it wasn't easy. I had to inform Sky about the situation so he could help cancel. He's been extra busy with work lately, which is why he isn't here for the party."

I let out a sigh. "This event probably stained our reputation," I muttered in frustration, mussing my soft hair angrily, knowing that I held myself responsible for the "event". How should I have known that one wrong turn would screw up my life?

"Anyways, enough of that. Guess who is back?"

"Who? Your hippie of a father?"

Ever since Helia came into the world, his parents would sporadically leave and travel around the world, claiming that it was part of their job, and that traveling fueled their creative muse. Their travel addiction resulted in Saladin raising Helia up from childhood and close relationship between the two. But that wasn't who had returned.

"No, Tecna." AKA the feared debt collector.

"That woman is here to collect her annual share of debt again?" I exclaimed with scorn.

Helia nodded. "With interest."

"How gay." My face darkened and I diverted my stare to a bottle of wine.

"You are having fun calling everyone gay tonight aren't you? Sky told me that she told him that she would postpone the deadline if she got a position on the judge panel for the new show so—what the heck are you doing?"

I was in the middle of pouring wine into a glass before met Helia's confused glare. "Pouring a glass. I don't see what is wrong with Tecna getting a spot as a judge."

"I don't either but you know that analytical woman. Everything she does has a purpose so and Sky doesn't know what she wants. That is why he hasn't accepted her offer yet," Helia continued, still giving me uncomfortable glances. "By the way, I don't think you should drink."

I paused as I lifted glass to my lips and got a whiff of the fruity wine.

"You've never stopped me before. Hell, you invited me to drink."

"That was back when you were in your body. Now you are in Flora's body, which has never consumed a single drop of win. You'll get drunk if you drink so much all of a sudden."

I rolled my eyes at Helia. I wasn't that big of an idiot to over drink.

"Look. I'll just take a sip at first and if I still feel fine then I'll drink more."

"…Ok."

I took a quick sip of the wine and savored its bitter taste for a moment or two.

"Look, I'm totally fine. You were worrying way to muuucccch," I slurred. Why was Helia swaying so much and why where the walls closing in? I rubbed my eyes. "Stop moving so much Helia." Then swayed to my right.

"Dude. You are drunk."

"Nah!" I blasted waving my hands as I tried to get my balance. "Stop being so gay."

As fast as I regained my balance I lost it. I watched as the ground came to meet me. Luckily, I managed to regain my balance in the nick of time, but I couldn't stop myself from staggering over to Stella, gruntiing when she squealed.

"Riven! You're drunk!" she yelled.

"No! I am fairy from Wasbsadfasy! I'm Princess Fifi dammit!" I said while falling to my knees. "Shalalalala! My OH my! Looks like the boy's too shy! Ain't gonna kiss the girl!" I felt a hand grab my arm and by instinct, and looked up.

_Oh look! It's a pretty black-haired lady!_

And for some reason, I planted a big, fat smooch on the lady's lips before my body fell the ground with a thud.

ººº

I woke up to a massive hangover and the sound of something sizzling. As I pushed myself up from the bed while clutching my throbbing head, I noticed that I was back home. What the hell had happen?

_I took a sip, fell to the ground, and now I'm in bed._

Obviously someone had brought me back here. Was it Flora?

Despite my massive headache, I managed to crawl out of bed with legs made of jello and tried to make my way to the kitchen for a glass of water. When I got there, Flora stood at the stove cooking some eggs.

"You're up early. Let me get a glass of water for you." When Flora handed me a long glass of water, I ravenously downed it all in one shot before asking for more. "You sure are sweating a lot."

"I feel awful," I mumbled and downed another glass of water before feeling my stomach churn.

I made a mad dashed for the restroom and threw the contents of my stomach, and returned feeling even more dehydrated.

While washing my hands, I caught a glance of myself in the mirror. Across from stared a miserable woman.

"I look awful too," I muttered before splashing water on my face then going back to the kitchen to try to eat something.

"You ok sweetie?" Flora looked worried.

"Fine." My response came out weaker than I had wanted it to and even I was surprised by laziness in my voice. "I just hate this defective body of yours that gets a hangover from a drop of wine."

"Oh _thanks. _Here are some eggs," Flora said as she set the plate of fresh food in front of me. "I'll drive you back after you eat."

"My car?"

"I drove it back last night."

Surprisingly enough, being in debt to Flora seemed normal by then. I snapped my eyes back to Flora and studied the lady, or guy, for a second like as puzzle.

What was different about Flora compared to othr women? Well, she was definitely more submissive compared to Layla and she could cook on a daily basis. She was patient and kind. Flora was a quintessential housewife.

Flora, the perfect housewife, fidgeted under my intense stare. "Is everything all right?"

"I'm just thinking that your husband would have a really good housewife." Flora blushed. I realized my slip of my mouth and quickly tried to make a save, "I mean, a good...lousy wife. Yea, the best lousy wife there is."

"I see," Flora replied with a disappointed frown as she went back to the stove. A pang of guilt ran through me as the image of her frown resonated within me.

_Why did I randomly think of her as a married woman?_

* * *

_Summer is giving more more time to write. These chapters are coming out faster. Too bad next week I have to start classes again. _

_I eat reviews. Yum._


	13. Happy Birthday

_Disclaimer: I am a woman. Ignio Straffi is a man. And I don't go switching bodies with guys. Get your sexes right._

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN – HAPPY BIRTHDAY**

Anyone would conclude that switching bodies would help people understand each other better. However, that conclusion proved untrue in my case. Even after a month of knowing Riven, I couldn't understand why he would act so bitter at certain moments or even why he hated his birthday. Why did that mystery annoy me to no end?

Then, with no warning, he complimented me and said I would be a good housewife.

What chain of thoughts led up to that response?

I sighed I resigned to my musings. Riven's birthday quickly crept up the calendar. I figured that even though Riven hated celebrating his birthday, he wouldn't turn down a present of good cake. Everybody loves good cake, right?

On the morning of Riven's birthday, I had already started making the cake. By noon, I was putting on the finishing touches, topping the cake with strawberries, when the doorbell rang. At the door stood an unfamiliar woman dressed in a tight, hot pink dress that exposed too much cleavage for my liking. Her amber hair flowed over her shoulders in ripples as she pushed her face into mine.

Riven's secret girlfriend? Hers eyes peered out from her face and trailed to my face.

"Happy birthday Riven," she slurred as she invited herself inside. I wrinkled my nose as her scent of her strong perfume wafted in the house. "It smells like fat in here."

"…It's a cake."

"Oh! You bought it?"

"I _baked_ it," I slowly replied, still unsure on how to act in front of Riven's secret girlfriend. So far I had the impression that she had a strong personality, though I had yet to understand on whether that was a good or bad thing.

"You baked it?" The woman stared at me with disbelief before breaking out into a dazzling grin. "My son is so talented he can cook too? It looks like me leaving you didn't do that much damage. You are a famous star, and you can bake cake! How sweet! How marvelous!"

This young woman was Riven's mom? So that was where Riven got his rudeness from.

"Umm, y-yes," I timidly replied, being subdued by the woman's overbearing personality.

"It is your birthday today, so let's go out to celebrate. I've already made reservations at the Frutti Music Bar."

"Umm…I appreciate it, but I can't go out at the moment," I politely declined.

"Oh don't wo-or-ry," she trilled in a singsong voice, swagging her finger at every syllable. "I know what you mean. The fans right? I reserved a private room so we can have mother and son time. So, let's go."

I finally gave in. One lunch with a mother wouldn't hurt.

"Wait. Let me put on a coat." I quickly grabbed a cap and leather jacket from the coat closet before heading towards the garage when she stepped in front of me.

"You can just ride with me."

I paused for a second and hesitantly took a step away from the mother as if she were a wild lion.

She lowered her head and zoned in before exposing her pearly whites. "I won't bite."

So I gave in and rode with Riven's mother, now called Ms. Riven for convenience. How was I supposed to deal with this woman all by myself? I needed, guidance, badly, so with swift, stealthy fingers, I quickly texted Riven.

_Can you come to the Frutti Music Bar, right now…please? Flora_

"So, Riven, my dear son, how have you been?" Ms. Riven tried to make small talk while she was drove.

"Fine."

"I see. I thought you were mad at me since you hadn't contacted me for a month after our last meeting."

_Of course I hadn't contacted you for a month. I hadn't even known you._ I shook my head tiredly. Riven's family's sarcasm and bitterness was starting to settle into my dialogue, blurring my personality till I didn't even know who I was anymore.

"Sorry. I have been busy."

"Busy enough to make cakes?"

Anxiousness welled up in me and I froze. "Yes?"

"You've sure gotten more quiet and laconic over the past month?" She laughed. "Well you've always been extremely quiet and laconic if you weren't acting like a moody teenage girl."

"Umm...I'm tired so I would rather not talk. Sorry." I hoped she would take the hint. She did and there was no more chatting the rest of the way.

Riven texted back while I tried to asked exhausted.

_Why?_

_I want to eat lunch. Flora_

…_Is this a date?_

My eyes fell out, theoretically speaking.

_I just wanted to eat a small lunch with someone. If you don't want to come then you don't have to. Sorry for disturbing you. Flora_

By the time his next text came, we had pulled up at the Frutti Music Bar.

"Here we are."

I unbuckled and got out to take a look at the bar that resembled a café more than a bar. As I entered the lively, exotically decorated bar, my phone vibrated with a reply.

_I'm coming._

Riven's mother proudly strode into the building, carrying her large lump of chest fat sensuously. "Excuse me. We made a reservation for a private room," Ms. Riven asked a tan headed man behind the counter.

"I see. Please follow me." The man led us down a hallway at the side of the building. "Here it is. Use the phone inside the room to order or ask questions."

"And your name?" Ms. Riven asked with a curious smile.

"Klaus."

"Well," she started. She lowered her eyelids as she sent a seductive glance his way. In return, Klaus brimmed with a proud grin, "You are _very_ attractive, _Klaus._"

"Yep. Happy, attractive, and proudly married with an adorable daughter." Klaus's grin grew even wider while the smile on Ms. Riven's face quickly disappeared in a flash. "It was nice meeting you..._miss._"

Scowling, she just grunted and rolled her eyes.

"He just _had_ to emphasize the miss! So what if I'm divorce!" she angrily huffed as she pounded again the couch's leather cushion, scratching the surface like a cat. I hoped she wouldn't damage the furniture as I continued texting.

_Thank you. :) And I'll be in the private room. Flora_

Ms. Riven sat on the couch and kept grumbling on how all the good men around her age were already stolen by hoes and how she a better figure compared to Klaus's wife. I wanted to add that she had never even seen Klaus's wife before.

"You must feel so deprived Riven?"

"Excuse…me?"

"You haven't getting getting much action with women have you, my poor virgin son?"

My eyes shot open as an awkward grimace fell on my face. "H-How do you know?"

"On your fanpage's biography it says that you've been single for at least two years now along with all your other…boy toys."

I couldn't believe my ears. What kind of mother checked her son's dating life by reading his fanpage's biography? I gulped, feeling fearful at her explicit mind.

"Are you encouraging me to have sex?"

"What? You think I'm encouraging you to hump a chicken?" she scoffed, looking absolutely horrified. "Of course I am!"

My ear's fell out, theoretically speaking. I shook my head while I rubbed my temples, still drowning in denial with my hearing. I guess it was safe to assume that she never had the sex talk with Riven before, or if she did, she probably described the process with vivid descriptions that scared Riven for life. Riven's mom beamed another smile which I returned with a tired glance. This was the person who abandoned Riven as a child? The revelation continued to stun me.

I decided to end the conversation in order to preserve the remaining good impression I had of his mom, which was her confidence. Instead, I browsed the menu filled with tropical drinks, salads, and appetizers, picking up the phone when I decided on my order.

"I'll have a tossed green salad and a strawberry smoothie. And you…mom?"

Something snapped her out of depression and her eyes twinkled with happiness. "That's the first time you've called me mom since I came back two years ago!" I stiffened when I realized that I could have made a big mistake. Was she getting teary? Oh no.

_Was I supposed to do that?_

"Your order?" I repeated in an uneasy tone.

"You order for me, _son,_" she replied with a strong emphasis on _son_.

"Haha…_ok_." I nervously gulped and put the receiver to my mouth again. "Make that two salads and strawberry smoothies. Thank you."

As I set the phone down with a click, the door flung open and revealed Riven with a shocked expression, but that expression quickly darkened into one resembled an exploding volcano. At that moment, I could easily picture steam shooting from his ears and horn sprouting from him head like an enraged bull ready to charge. Maybe inviting Riven wasn't such a smart idea.

* * *

_Short chapter that serves as an introduction to Riven's birthday. I'm so happy to know that there are people out there reading along and enjoying this story like I am. I have fun with Riven's mom who I conveniently named Ms. Riven. I didn't want to give her a last name because I'm odd like that. Again, thank you to everyone who is following along. I have some cake batter for the people who not only follow along but also let me know what they think. I miss my beta..._

_Renachi_


	14. The Gift

_Disclaimer: I. AM. WOMAN._

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**CHAPTER FOURTEEN – THE GIFT**

I slumped back in a chair as I pensively yawned, staring at Mirta who perched her armed on the flower shop counter. It had been a slow day with only a few customers coming in, so I allowed my mind to wander.

Recently, at night, I've started reliving the moment my mom left me at home waiting in the dark for her to return. In the dream, my eyes keep sleepily staring at the dark window, waiting for my mom's silhouette to return, eternally. It never showed.

I've long gotten used to the sharp pang of loneliness in my chest as I awake up from the reaccuring nightmare. I've long accepted the fact that she, a mother who I used to seek the attention of, tainted everything, my birthday, my life, and even my dreams. Without any sincere remorse, she introduced me to the feeling of isolation and turned me into a wuss.

A _wuss_.

Hah.

A wuss who still dreams about their mother leaving them after decades. Perfect .That was precisely why I hated her.

I shook my head, replacing my unpleasant memories with another woman, Flora. That girl interested me, and even though I was currently living her life, I wanted to learn more about her. I wanted to learn anything and everything.

"Hey Mirta, tell me something about Flora."

Mirta quirked her eyebrow as she rested her chin on the heel of her arm. "Well, she's nice? She's talented. She's—"

"I mean something other than that."

"Like?"

I paused, questioning what the hell I was wanted to know, but I just met an irritating blank. "I don't know," I grumbled, rather frustrated at my own confusion.

Then my phone buzzed with a text message from Flora asking me to go to a bar. Why? Was she asking me out on a…date?

"Hey Mirta, if a girl asks to eat lunch together, is that a date?"

"Hmmm…Well, it matters on who the girl is."

"Your co-worker, Miss Treehugger."

My eyes lit up with surprise. "I guess so." I grinned. "Then again, I don't think Flora is that bold. Maybe it isn't—"

"It's a date," I snapped. "I got to go. I got a _date._"

_With Flora…_

I proudly grinned from ear to ear as I started to the car.

ººº

" Why is _she_ here?" I hissed with narrowed eyes directed to that woman who dared to call herself my mother. It turned out that she hadn't invited me to a date; she had invited me to hHell. Here I was, standing at the doorway to the private room in the Putties, Booties...Cooties Bar? I didn't give a damn for the freakin' bar's name.

"Who is this lady Riven?" that woman asked in an interested tone.

"Ummmmmm…" Flora nervously hummed without meeting my eyes, obviously trying to ignore the malice emanating from me. "Flora, meet my mom. Mom, meet my friend Flora."

"Ahhh…A _friend_. Nice to meet you Flora,"she purred. I just grunted and plopped myself on a couch at the farthest corner of the room. "What a nice friend you have Riven."

Unnerving silence settled in the room. Flora tried to destroy the awkwardness by starting a conversation about food which we easily ignored. When the waitress entered, I watched as the waitress's pink cheeks lit up with excitement.

"Oh my GOSH! RIVEN? Autograph, autograph," she mumbled as she fumbled with a notepad after setting the drinks and food down. I could feel Flora's wary gaze on me but I ignored it and gave her a cold shoulder. She deserved it.

"Um…what is your name?" Flora timidly asked the waitress.

"Roxy," the waitress squeaked. After a few seconds of tense hush as she signed the autography, Flora's husky voice broke out.

"Here you go dear—I mean...Here you go." I could literally feel the anxiousness emanating from Flora.

"Thank you so much! And here is your food." She shyly lowered her head at Flora before scurrying out. I spared a glance for Flora as I wondered what Flora thoughts were after tasting the first bite of stardom.

"Um… your food is here, Mom," Flora said to that woman who I definitely didn't recognize as "Mom". What "Mom" would abandon her son at nine? Angered, I shot Flora a piercing glare. She immediately got the hint that she wasn't supposed to call her and sent a crooked smile as a reply.

"Um…Flora, you sure you don't want to eat anything?" Flora asked me.

I grunted.

"Leave her alone Riven. She has made it clear that she has no intention to be polite. What a _nice _friend you have," the woman scoffed, "She didn't even wish you happy birthday."

A dark chuckle came from me. "Like you ever cared," I muttered.

A startling bang erupted from the table as Ms. Riven violently slammed into it. "Sorry, but I can not deal with your friend's rudeness. I'm leaving." She left out of the room without taking a single bite of her food, slamming the door shut with a thud.

"Of course she would leave. She left me when I was nine on my birthday and she leaves me again seventeen years later on the same day," I scoffed dryly.

"Riven…"

"Don't you dare pity me," I fiercely hissed. My teeth grinded as I angrily glared at the untouched food. Then a muffled sob erupted.

When looked at Flora, her head was raised up in the air. I could see hints of tears welling. Shit_…_was she going to cry? I couldn't stand it when girls cried, showing their fragile weakness inside of their heart. Correction. I couldn't stand it when girls cry because of me. I had no idea what to, and it frustrated me to madness. Was I supposed to comfort her?

_How do you comfort a girl? Hug her?_

I softened. "Look, I—"

She just a sneeze.

_Stupid girl who worried me for nothing._

Flora heaved a sigh before turning to me, pursing her lips with her distressed eyes lowered.

"I don't like it. I don't like how you're crying all by yourself." I stared with amazement at Flora as a sheen of silver tears reflected in her eyes. Then she sniffled, and the first tear rolled down, freezing my body. "All that hate is killing you from the inside out. Hating your mom, refusing to forgive her, and crying by yourself—it all causes pain. Nothing improves. Instead, hate eats you from the inside."

She stunned me from head to toe. It was the first time anyone felt pain because of my hate and sobbed sincere tears for me; she was the first. Somehow, her tears shook my heart, making it tremble like the shaky aftershock of an earthquake.

"I understand why you hate her and I know that she isn't the best mother in the world, but don't you see it?" she continued with wracked sobs.

"Look, I can't just forgive her after all she has done to me in the past." My voice shook, and I realized the tightness in my throat, the overwhelming emotion gathering my chest, and my riled up appearance. "You can't understand."

"You're right. I can't understand, so help me understand. Why can't you forgive?"

"Why should I forgive her?"

"Because you'll be happier and free."

Flora shook her head. All of a sudden, I didn't know what to say to this crying girl who's tears froze me on the spot and stole my breath away, bringing me back into reality.

_What do you say when a girl is shedding sincere tears for you as your benefactor? Thank you? I'm sorry?_

This is why I hated when girl pitied me, and here Flora was, crying for me. At that moment, I could feel my heart of stone slowly cracking, tiny chips of stone falling off.

"I'm…I'm just…I'm just sorry. Sorry for being so emotional and for spilling everything onto you. I just want you to smile." Flora hurriedly dried her tears on her coat's sleeve. I didn't know whether I should have heaved a sigh of relief that she finally stopped crying. If she had kept on crying, what would have happened?

"Thanks for caring?" I could hear something move inside my chest as she gave the gift of the warmest smile in the world.

"Riven, I'm here for you to depend on, so rely on me. Don't suffer all by yourself. Anyways, are you thirsty?" Flora offered the glass towards me in a composed manner as if she hadn't been crying before. "It's strawberry."

"That's ok."

"Is you because you're mad at—"

"It's not you. I just don't have the appetite."

She accepted my response without a fight and wiped away the rest of her tears. For the rest of the meal, she silently ate her salad, taking dainty bites, and neatly wiping her mouth.

"Um…Riven? Can you drive me home?"

"Sure." An odd look appeared on her face. "What?'

"No…I thought you would be more mad since I invited you here without telling you that your mo—I mean your…"

"I'm fine, so call her mom if it helps."

Flora gulped, blinking unsurely, but continued anyways.

"Well, I invited your mom without telling you. Well, it is more like your mom invited me. Anyways, I thought you would be mad, even furious, and I just want to say sorry."

A few seconds ago, I was furious, but somehow, being with Flora calmed me down a whole lot. Just being with her brought me sense of peace and secureness.

"I'm fine now, so let's go. I'll pay for the bill."

"It is ok I'll—"

"The man pays." Flora opened her mouth to say something. "I'm still the man even in a woman's body."

Even though she still disagreed, she accepted my proposal.

After paying for the meal, I gave Flora a ride home with the radio tuned to random music station, and I didn't miss the smile on her face when Bob Marley came on.

_So she likes reggae._

That feeling of wanting to learn more surfaced again.

When we arrived, Flora immediately invited me in. "Come in. I have something to give you."

So for once, I did obeyed her. I

"Please wait here for a moment. I need to get something."

stared at the new flowers she planted before I collapsed on a couch. While I waited in the living room, I lazily stared at random pieces of furniture before I spotted something out of place—the countdown calendar. Thirty days were already crossed off. For some reason, I wanted to rip off the calendar really badly.

My heart jumped when the lights went out. A blackout? Then a melodic, but deep tune started singing slowly as if it were singing a lullaby. A row of lights entered and I could see Flora's gentle expression glowing as she sang.

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday, dear Riven_

_Happy birthday to you_

Silence.

Flora hurried turned around with scatterbrained expression and headed back towards the kitchen.

"I'm sorry! I knew you hated your birthday, but I'm so stupid. Of course you don't want to celebrate it. I'll put this back immediately," Flora rambled, floundering as she began to scurry back to the kitchen with the cake. My hand shot out to grab the tail of her shirt.

"I'll blow it out."

Flora seemed a bit startled at first but that expression quickly shifted to a relieved one. After a few blows, all twenty four candles went out, and we were left in alone in complete darkness. The darkness increased my hearing senses. I could hear Flora's steady breath as she inhaled and exhaled, and I suddenly became self conscious.

"I'll go turn on the lights," she timidly spoke. I listened to her footsteps and rested my eyes for a few seconds when the lights flickered back on. "I'll go get the spoons and the knives." I stopped her again.

"I don't want to see that knife that you tried to kill me with." I smirked at Flora's frown. "Let's just used what we were born with."

I promptly lifted up my palms.

"You'll get sick."

"Fine _Mother_. Then let's just eat the strawberries on the top first before cutting the cake. Just, and only just the strawberries."

Flora pondered for a second a two before agreeing. She picked up her first strawberry and held it out to me. I stared at the red fruit with confusion.

"I can get my own strawberries."

"You are supposed to go like this." Flora opened her mouth wide like a baby bird and went "ahhhhh".

I grimaced. If she seriously thought I was going to do that humiliating, weak act that babies did, Flora had crossed the border. "

You know, you are the most embarrassing person I've ever met."

"What?" she retorted looking insulted before lifting the strawberry to her lips. "Fine…Don't eat the delicious, juicy, bright, appetizing strawberry."

Somehow refusing Flora's gift of a strawberry didn't feel right. Flora started placing the strawberry in mouth, but I quickly grabbed her wrists. Flora crinkled her eyebrows in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"I accept your gift."

My neck protruded, and lips reached for the strawberry in Flora's fingers, envelopoing the whole fruit with one solid bite. The cooling taste of sweetness exploded in my mouth as I chewed and stole a glance at Flora's face, which blushed a new shade of crimson. Interesting.

Suddenly I froze. I felt an oddly warm sensation in my lower body.

"Be right bacck." I made a mad dash for the restroom, and a few seconds later, I exploded from it. My heart raced as my face twisted into an indescribable expression, a mix of confusion, frustration, anger, annoyance, shock, and panic.

"I'm bleeding into my underwear!"

On my twenty-fourth birthday, Mother Nature gave me a gratuitous gift.

"Riven? …I hate to break it to you, but you got your period (1)."

* * *

_And that was our troubled couple's little heartfelt conversation. This is romance after all, so you gotta have some of that fluffy, gushy, sparkly moments where the guy realizes at this is is - SHOCK - different. I'm not sure if it's drama though. Humor? Hmm..._

_(1) "the periodic discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the uterus, occurring approximately monthly from puberty to menopause in nonpregnant women and females of otherprimate species." - _

_That's for males who might not know what a period is. What? It has happened._

_Renachi_


	15. Round One

_Disclaimer: Ugh. Straffi never had cramps. Lucky man._

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**CHAPTER FIFTEEN – ROUND ONE**

I let out my breath, glancing out of the resort's transparent entrance doors and taking a whiff of the tantalizing, cool, sea breeze.

The band staff and I had recently arrived at the Wildland resort's registration. While we served as judges for the next three weeks, we were required to stay at a resort located away from nosy reporters and the public eye. To reach the stage and practice rooms, it took a fifteen minute drive to reach the nearby the beach city, and to reach home, it took about an hour at the minimum.

Ever since Brandon had learned about Riven's "body discomfort" in the car, he had been laughing nonstop.

"Riven had a period? Now you don't have to PMS as a man; you can PMS as a woman!" Brandon chortled, almost tearing.

"Ha. _Ha_. _HA. Very_ funny," Riven sarcastically spat as he crossed his arms.

Brandon sent me a curious grin. "So…what did you do Flora?"

"Umm…I well, just explained what a period was, how it worked, and that it was a monthly gi—"

"A monthly curse," Riven corrected me bitterly, rolling his eyes that showed he desperately wished to change the subject. Much to my surprise, turned how he hadn't known about the details of a woman's menstrual before I explained them to him. According to him, Riven, apparently, had not known anything about the female body because of his lack of feminine contact.

It blew my mind that Riven's mom explained how babies were made during his toddler years, but never cared to mention how a woman's body had to create of lining of blood every month to house a potential baby. During highschool career, he had never encountered a topic about the period even after surviving through Health Ed. and Biology. What were teachers teaching?

No wonder the man did not show any respect to the female body.

I tiredly sighed as I recalled the whole conversation following discovery about a woman's body:

"_What the fuc—shi—damn?" Riven blew up in denial after I provided the definition to menstruation. _

"_Wow…swear bomb!"_

_Riven's brows twitched. "Is that sarcasm?"_

"_No. I'm honestly surprised that you just combined three of the most used swear words into one big mess," I calmly replied._

"_So you're lying to me about the whole period thing right? Women can't possibly experience 'blood' diarrhea that lasts for a week every, single month."_

"_But they do. It's normal."_

"_How is bleeding from down there normal?" he demanded obnoxiously with no restraint. _

"_Well, we get used to the blood after we bleed every month starting from thirteen. Some girls get their first period at an even earlier age like nine."_

"_NINE?" Riven suddenly curled up in pain and sauntered over to the couch to lie down before groaning, "Why does it hurt?"_

"_That would be a menstrual cramp."_

"_A what?"_

"_A cramp. They are usually the worst during the first and second day when you bleed the most," I explained, trying not to light up like a Christmas tree. As long as I didn't meet his eyes and pretended that I was speaking to a wall, I wouldn't curl up in embarrassment. "People usually take a pill to subside the pains, but I suggest taking herbal tea to—"_

"_Give me the pill," he growled._

"_But it's healthier to—"_

"_Give. Me. The. Pill." His eyes gleamed dangerously with hunger like some vicious predator eyeing its prey; and I was the prey. _

_My frightened eyes widened within milliseconds, and I hurriedly fetched the pill._

"So you had the sex talk with Riven? How cute!" Brandon quirked an eyebrow while erupting with laughter. I squirmed uncomfortably.

"All I did was show him how to use a pad and tampon and how to clean out the blood—"

"That stinks like hell," Riven added. "I'll never see women the same way ever again."

"Tampon? Riven, you stuck that thing up your—"

"OH HELL NO! Forget about my period and go check in," Riven snarled with a dramatic roll of his eyes.

"So Flora, how did you feel when you taught Riven how to _do it_?" Brandon playfully wagged his eyebrows.

I almost gagged on my spit. "Do what?"

"You can tell me you know," he mischievously whispered." I won't—"

"Brandon! Check in!" Riven angrily shouted, a bitter scowl on his face. Heads turned towards our direction and I quickly hid my face from their view.

"Fine. Cranky today aren't we Miss?" Brandon sighed. "Brandon! Check in!" he imitated Riven with a high-pitched voice as he sauntered to the counter.

After Brandon checked-in and handed us out keys, we all headed to our separate rooms. The contestants along with all the other judges were given a free room to share with at least one person at the minimum. And guess who my roommate was?

Riven.

Once I thought about it, the rooming setup was reasonable. There was absolutely no one else that I could room with except for him; I couldn't possibly roomed with a guy as female, but I couldn't room with a girl as a man.

Imagine the rumors that would fly if the press discovered that Riven, me, had roomed with a girl.

To prevent gossip, Riven had to cross dress as a man and pose as a stage crew member using a blond shaggy wig, amber colored contacts, and large collections of hats and visors. That way, a man and a man rooming together wouldn't be questionable. I mused on how twisted this secret had grown to be.

I couldn't understand why everyone were finicky about the press related issues. Certainly, the press wasn't_ that_ bad, but everyone else said otherwise. But then again, I wasn't the one with the experience.

"Ok, this is how it is going to be," Riven started once we entered the room. "I'm getting the king-sized bed."

I frowned and stuck out a playful tongue before unpacking my clothing near the couch in the living room without a complaint.

"Good that you understand."

"Don't worry. I understand if you are a bit high maintenance," I smartly replied. Riven scowled but went into the adjacent bedroom without a retort.

ººº

"Remember: Only say what you hear through the earpiece. Repeat after me, I will repeat everything Riven says."

"I will repeat everything Riven says. I got, so don't worry," I assured as took a second look at myself in the vanity mirror. My confident tone of voice surprised me because in reality, I was suffering from a feared illness. Stage fright.

"You better not screw up. Is the earpiece in?" Riven leaned over to look at the side of my head while I lifted up a lock of hair covering up my ear.

"Right here."

"Hey! Flo—I mean Riven…you are up right now. The other judges with you are Palladium and Stella. Hurry!" Nabu's voice called as I saw his head poke out from behind the door. The solo/duet singing competition was the first part out of the four. On Monday, the singing

"Coming!" I scurried down the hall of the backstage as Nabu led me to a pair of door where Stella and Palladium stood.

"Oh Flor—Riven!" Stella chirped. Everyone seemed to be making mistakes tonight.

"Stella," I nonchalantly recognized. Fear of the possibility that by the end of the performance, the world would know that I was an imposter crept into me. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. I jumped slightly as a soft voice spoke into my ear.

"_Don't worry Flora. I bet you are nervous. Everything will be fine. Just remember when you jumped off the bridge."_

I never realized how soothing hearing Riven, even if it was once mine, could be. I nodded reassuringly to myself.

"I think we've met Riven." Palladium threw a timid, scared smile at me. Riven had probably intimidated the petite man before. It was up to me to continue that impression.

"I think we have, Palladium," I replied in the coldest stare I could manage. I must have failed because Palladium beamed a smile.

Nabu glanced over at his watch and then with a nod, put his hands onto his the door knobs. "Ready?"

"No," I grunted.

"Anytime! I'm always camera ready, remember," Stella chirped. I gave my belly one last pat to calm down the butterflies in my stomach and gulped down my nervousness to adorn a stoic visage.

Then slowly like a slug, the doors creaked open, revealing blinding lights and booming music. Cheers erupted as the tree of us walked through a little pathway between two stands filled with the audience. I tried not to blush from all the hoots and hollers women gave me.

One man screamed for me to rip off my dress shirt, and other chimed in to agree. Some fans clawed at me, trying to reach out far enough to touch my face as if I were some god, and many sent hand hearts.

_Fans are frightening._

At the end of the pathway, we went up a few steps to a platform with three seats and a table. I took my rightful place in the middle chair just like Riven told me. I took a good apprehensive look at the roomy, spotless stage in front of me where wild strobe lights roamed like bees.

"_Now just stay cool. Don't chicken out."_

I tried to calm my restless heart, and reminded myself that as long as I depended on Riven, nothing would go wrong. I trusted him, and he trusted me.

Clapping resumed for a few seconds before the hired host of the show, Avalon, stood to the right of the stage. He managed to calm down the cheering. He began with a booming, smooth voice:

"Welcome to the first ever episode of Masters of the Stage! Today is the start of round one with the theme of FUN. Each contestant will be graded on enjoyment, technique, and creativity. Tonight, we will give you a total of twelve performances, six singing solos or duets and six group singing/choir performances. Sadly, four of those twelve will have to go.

"At the end of the night, you will get the chance to vote for the top four performances in each block. That means you have a total of eight votes every night. Use them wisely folks because your votes count. Each contestant's final score will be based on the judge's score and your votes. Now, shall we start those solos and duets. May the judges introduce themselves?"

Palladium sat on the far left and was the first to speak up. "I'm Palladium, a singer, coach, and teacher." He shot the camera an amiable smile before all the focus moved on to me. An explosion of cheers started.

" _Say , 'Riven. I'm the drummer of the Specialists.'"_

"Riven. I'm the drummer of the Specialists and a singer," I repeated.

"_Turn your chin up a little and cock your head to the right twenty degrees."_

I mentally frowned. Why? I tried my best to do what he ordered and earned more high-pitched squeals.

_I don't get fans._

"And I'm Stella of the Solaria fashion industry and a great supporter of art!"

"Those are the three judges in the solo/duet block. So let the performances begin!"

The stage darkened and a single spotlight landed in the middle of the stage. There stood two black-haired men sitting on stools. Their arms rests on their guitars and the heads faced the floor. Then a single strum sounded, then another. And before I knew it, a medley integrating tango, the song Can You Hear The Love Tonight, and various other playful melodies. A tenor voice hummed and another voice began with rhythmic "doo's" (1).

I enjoyed the song and was tempted to start clapping to the rhythm when the men's faces flew up. Comical expressions were taped to their faces and the audience grew loud with laughter. I laughed too till I recognized one of the faces. Roy?

"_Is that…Roy?"_

My empty eyes stared for the rest of the performance. When it was time to judge, I was frozen silent.

"You definitely kept the performance fun. Rhythm was great too. You two sounded relaxed and confident. Good job," Palladium said.

"_Say, 'It was fun to watch and the expressions added to the enjoyment meter.'"_

I stayed silent.

"_Flora!"_

"It was fun to watch and the expressions added to the enjoyment meter," I coldly dictated. I surprised myself with the lack of emotion in my voice. It turned out that a month wasn't enough time to get over the stupid jerk and it frustrated me to an endless extent. I swore I saw Roy's haughty smirk.

"I thought it was just hilarious!" Stella ended.

"That was Roy and Jason. That was one heck of a performance. Will you two tell us something about yourself?"

_Oh no! He's going to let the truth out!_

Thankfully he didn't. Jason did most of the storytelling and told how they had been good friends and lovers of guitars for some time.

"Great performance. You may be seated." Roy and Jason linked arms and galloped towards their seats. More laughter came. "Let's see those score."

"_Eight, Flora. Eight."_

Drums rolled as we started to hold up our numbers.

"Eight!"

"Eight!"

"Eight!"

The crowd responded with applause akin to the thunder of wild horse hooves as the stage went black pop music started to play. A girl with flowing black hair and green glasses propped on her nose bridge stood in the middle of the stage singing I Kissed A Girl the remix (2).

_This was never the way I planned, not my intention__  
__I got so brave, drink in hand, lost my discretion__  
__It's not what I'm used to, just wanna try you on__  
__I'm curious for you, caught my attention_

_I kissed a girl and I liked it__  
__the taste of her cherry chapstick__  
__I kissed a girl just to try it__  
__I hope my boyfriend don't mind it__  
__It felt so wrong__  
__it felt so right__  
__Don't mean I'm in love tonight__  
__I kissed a girl and I liked it_

_No, I don't even know your name, it doesn't matter__  
__You're my experimental game, just human nature__  
__It's not what good girls do, not how they should behave__  
__My head gets so confused, hard to obey__  
_

Her coal black eyes stared seductively like a wild cat at me and I instinctively slouched and diverted my eyes. Then I realized something She was staring at Stella.

Oh dear.

Stella wouldn't like that.

"That was interesting. It was fun in certain ways but I think you've gotten the theme wrong. I felt more, 'Oh fun! I'm aroused!' than, 'Oh fun. I want to dance and smile.' Other than that, you have potential."

"_You've got the theme completely wrong."_

"You've got the theme completely wrong." I started to learn that most of Riven's responses were short and sweet yet harsh.

"Um…First of all, can you stop staring at me like that?" Stella snapped at Mitzi.

"You aren't dating are you?"

Mitzi sent Stella a wry smile full of subtle hints, but Stella ignored her, and caustically snapped back, "That's none of your business." The smile on Mitzi face immediately disintegrated.

"Anyways, I thought you got the theme wrong like what Riven and Palladium said," Stella continued. "The performance was good other than that and a few other details I would rather now disclose."

When the scores came, they didn't look so pretty for Mitzi.

"7."

"5."

"6."

After the next three contestants performed their pieces, I felt ready to retire. Luckily, there was only one more singer left. When the spotlight fell on her, I gasped. I recognized that girl anywhere. It was Musa

I had a sudden epiphany. Riven had informed me of Musa's absence from the apartment. Was this the reason? Was she practicing? If so then why didn't she tell Riven who lived as me?

She wore a bright red midriff jumper with matching pants. As the music began playing, she started shifting from side to side and bobbing her hips. Then her smooth voice rolled out (3).

_Okay, Coconut man, Moon Heads and Pea __  
__You ready_

_Seems like everybody's got a price,__  
__I wonder how they sleep at night. __  
__When the sale comes first, __  
__And the truth comes second, __  
__Just stop, for a minute and __  
__Smile_

_Why is everybody so serious __  
__Acting so damn mysterious __  
__Got your shades on your eyes __  
__And your heels so high __  
__That you can't even have a good time __  
__Everybody look to their left (yeah) __  
__Everybody look to their right (ha) __  
__Can you feel that (yeah) __  
__We're paying with love tonight __  
__It's not about the money, money, money __  
__We don't need your money, money, money __  
__We just wanna make the world dance, __  
__Forget about the Price Tag __  
__Ain't about the (uh) Cha-Chang Cha-Chang. __  
__Aint about the (yeah) Ba-Blang Ba-Blang __  
__Wanna make the world dance, __  
__Forget about the Price Tag. _

_Okay! __  
__We need to take it back in time, __  
__When music made us all unite __  
__And it wasn't low blows and video hoes, __  
__Am I the only one getting tired __  
__Why is everybody so obsessed __  
__Money can't buy us happiness __  
__Can we all slow down and enjoy right now __  
__Guarantee we'll be feeling Alright. _

_Everybody look to their left (yeah) __  
__Everybody look to their right (ha) __  
__Can you feel that (yeah) __  
__We're paying with love tonight __  
__It's not about the money, money, money __  
__We don't need your money, money, money __  
__We just wanna make the world dance, __  
__Forget about the Price Tag __  
__Ain't about the (uh) Cha-Chang Cha-Chang. __  
__Aint about the (yeah) Ba-Blang Ba-Blang __  
__Wanna make the world dance, __  
__Forget about the Price Tag. __  
_

Musa hit every note with pinpoint precision using her angelic voice. When she rapped, the audience started to nod their heads along with the rhythm. When she clapped, she got the crowds to clap along with her.

"That was enjoyable and fun. I say good job."

"_Say, 'It was—Ah shhhh— Ow!"_

"It was—Ah shhh— Ow!" I froze when realized what I had said. What happened to Riven? My eyes frantically searched the room like a searching light. Riven? I waited for his voice but I got nothing. "I mean…It was…cool."

I sunk with disappointment when I saw Musa frown at my comment.

"It was fun. I'll give you that, but it felt like it needed more spirit, more freshness. Well, it was amazing anyhow," Stella commented.

Musa's frown deepened and glumness settled over her.

"9!"

"8?"

"7."

The expression on Musa's face definitely didn't spell satisfaction.

"Well, that's the end of this block for tonight. After this break, we will commence on the group singing block."

Cheers erupted as we judges filed down the stairs and towards the exit. As I headed down the halls, I replied everyone's "Good jobs!" with my own "You too." In return, I received confused but happy smiles.I heaved a huge sigh when I finally found Riven, legs spread out in a lazy position, lounging on a couch.

"What happened to the last performance?"

"Some idiot ran me over and the mic got crushed." He held up for a wire with some contraption dangling at the end. I gaped and opened my mouth to say something but when I found myself lost for words, I just sighed again. "But you didn't do too badly. Maybe you can do the next episodes by yourself."

"Please don't," I immediately objected.

"Of course not. If I left you on your own, who knows what the hell you would do."

"I am a dog on a leash," I grumbled.

"Good metaphor. It would be much easier if you were kept on a leash. Anyways, shall we head back to resort? I don't feel like watching the group singers."

I nodded; I felt ready to retire. We headed towards the backdoor and along the way I paused to grab my jacket from the closet. When we were heading out, I spotted a lonesome figure sitting on a bench under a buzzing streetlight. It was Musa with her contemplative "I am sad" position.

"Can you wait a minute?"

"…You are going to talk to her aren't you. It isn't a good idea. Don't forget that you live as me."

"Please Riven."

"No.

"Please? I mean, your cover and our secret won't be exposed." I stared at him with a begging puppy look. If he treated me like a dog, why not act like one?

"You really want to that badly?"

"Yes…I can't stand to see my best friend being sad all by herself, and I know you aren't going to go on over to comfort her in my place."

"True." He stayed silent for a minute before relenting. "Fine, but I'm coming along."

Riven's approval launched me into a giddy mood. With steady, hesitant steps, I approached Musa with Riven trailing behind me and Musa stiffened when she heard me. Her disappointed eyes looked up.

"Hey." Wisps of my breath lingered in the air for seconds. I focused on my disappearing breath during that uncomfortable pause.

"Hey."

"Are you ok?"

Tears started to gathering at the corners of her eyes, but she willed them back. l had excited a land mine. "I'm fine."

"You sure?" I knew how Musa worked. She never opened up easily so I had to gently coax her in the beginning.

"I'm…fine…"

I reached down and enveloped her in a warm hug.

"Don't worry too much, ok?" Those words broke through Musa's emotional barriers.

"It's just that, I practiced to so long. I prepared myself so much just for this one night and all I got from Riven was a cool and an ow." I winced. "My scores weren't below my expectations too. Is that bad? If I tried so hard just for the first night and didn't do that well, how will I do in the next round?" Musa sniffed.

"It is all right," I cooed. "Things just turned out differently tonight, and…I'm sorry. You deserved more than just a cool…and a ow. Just keep trying your best so you don't leave any regrets. You have the talent and potential for something big. Don't get down over something little."

"I guess you are right," Musa whispered thoughtfully. Her eyes were casted won and flickered with a blur of emotion before they flew to my face, and her cheeks heated up. "Umm…Riven?"

"Hn?"

"Um….Thanks."

I released Musa from the hug and stared into her eyes. She stared back, star-struck, but there was another emotion swimming in her eyes, an emotion that startled me into taking a step back.

Riven nudged my arm and urged me to leave. I stared at him in wonder when I realized that he hadn't stopped me from hugging Musa, and just indifferent stood next to me and patiently waited.

"Well, I have to go now," I coolly replied.

"See you."

When Riven and I drove out of the parking lot, he warned me. "You should be aware that you're getting yourself into deep trouble. What was in Musa's eyes back there didn't look like simple thanks."

I frowned. "But it _was _simple thanks."

"Fine. Stay in denial. Fine by me," he huffed. "Just so you know, denial isn't healthy." Riven continued to drive through the highway and I occupied myself with staring at headlights pensively.

"Riven?"

"Yea?"

"Why didn't you stop me from hugging Musa back there?"

Riven paused for a second I so wondered if he had heard me, but then he answered calmly, "What do you think?"

I contemplated his answer for a minute. I had been seeing new sides of Riven recently, sides that I hadn't expected, softer sides.

"Well, I thought that maybe you aren't as cold hearted as you think you.

Riven just laughed. "Not as coldhearted as I think I am? Sorry to tell you, but you are painfully wrong. Just keep thinking that I'm like the devil."

I shook my head and sighed. Why couldn't Riven accept the kindness in his heart?

"Just so you know, denial isn't healthy." I playfully grinned at him as he rudely snorted.

"We both know that I don't give a damn."

* * *

_Exit home arc, enter show business arc. Let's see if I can make the next few chapters work._

_(1) Inspired by a classmate's awesome performance that won the talent show._

_(2) & (3) Listen to the songs on youtube while reading the story for a better experience._

_ By the way, is anyone out there an expert in botany by any chance? You never know. _

_Let me remind me about the nice link down below. Click away to your heart's desire._

_Renachi_


	16. Result Night

_Disclaimer: Just wait. One day I'll switch bodies with Straffi and this line of text will disappear._

* * *

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN – RESULT NIGHT**

The jazzy theme song of the competition show abated the audience's chatter,

"Welcome back to Masters of the Stage for the first Result Night!" Avalon tenor voice boomed, catching the undivided attention of the viewers. "I am your host, Avalon.

Of course he secretly meant to say, "Welcome to back to Sky's (censored) (censored) show! I am Helia's long lost cousin from Las Vegas!"

Avalon continued his introduction: "For the past two nights, you have witnessed the talented performers we have recruited. Sadly, tonight, two entrees from each block have to leave the show. During performance night, you voted for your favorite performances . It is time to see if your votes paid off."

I comfortably sat back in my seat with my face hidden behind a cap as I silently watched the competition's Result Night from the audience with a yawn.

"Let me reintroduce all the contestants. In the solo/duet block we have…Roy and Jason."

Roy and Jason ran out from the side of the stage while giving friendly waves to the audience. Then it took their place at the far end of the stage, still giving disgusting flirty grins for the ladies.

Somehow the sight of Flora's ex—no, that animal—made my blood boil

"Mitzi." She trotted out, her nose raised up high in the air like the Eiffel Tower.

"Alice…Pete…Ahisa and Kimmy…and Musa!" Each person timidly walked out with wry smiles before taking their place in the growing line across the crowded stage before they exited the stage all together.

"Next, in the choir block we have…The Beta Academy Fairies…The Patchamen!...The Trix…The Water Nymphs…The Pixies…and Monsters."

Again, all the performers walked across the stage, some waving at the cheering crowds with their chests up high, while others just shly glanced at fans with vague smirks.

"In the band block we have…The Black Circle…The White Circle…Shadowhaunt…Alfea…Andy And Company…and Roccaluce."

When Andy and his band walked out, I couldn't help but grimace, again. Andy had a strong resemblance to Roy and the thought of another Roy existing in the world didn't settle in well.

"They're brothers," Flora informed me the night before.

When I continued to grimace after she told me, she said, "Don't worry Riven…I'm not going to date Andy and get my heartbroken by the other brother." I snorted.

Who said that I was worrying about her dating the brother?

"Finally, in our last block, the dance block, we have…Canon Shippers…Andros…"

Layla walked out with a group of males and females. Each one of them were dressed in scaly pants and a flimsy tops, making them look like mermaids and mermans. Turns out that Nabu had no idea that his independent girlfriend had tried out for the competition until she appeared on stage.

What a _great_ boyfriend he was.

Avalon continued with reading out the long list of names. "Army of Darkness…Tir Nan Og…The Fanfictioners of Winx Club…and Oppositus. Please give a final round of applause for all the contestants up on stage."

I heaved a sigh as they cheered, _again_. I eagerly waited for the elimination because there were too many contestants for my taste. No wonder there were only six entrees in each category. No wonder it took two nights to feature all the performances.

"We will now give a short recap of each performance. Please enjoy the following presentation."

The large screen to the right of the stage lit up and music and commentary filled the stage. The screen showed clips of every performance in sequence from Mitzi's horrid singing to The Trix singing We are The Trix to Andros performing an entertaining fish-like dance requiring numerous flips in the air. The audience clapped wildly when their favorites appeared.

When Andy And Company appeared on the screen, an ear-splitting cheer grew. Forthe umpteenth time that night, I sighed. It was obvious that Andy and his band were the female's— if not the audience's— favorite. _Great._

When the recap ended, the audience cheered, _again_, for the zillionth time.

_Intolerable fans._

I understood that performers survived on fans, but sometimes, they were just too much to bear. I couldn't get how they could scream for hours long without losing their voices.

"When we come back, Codatorta, the worldwide famous ballet dancer, will perform for us. The results will be announced soon so don't go away."

I rolled my eyes as I got up to head into the foyer for some breathing air and water. Compared to the auditorium, the lobby was literally deserted, thankfully. The night before, the lobby had been packed with fans waving banners.

While I drank from the drinking fountain, a tap on my shoulder startled me."Shh…Riven. It is me," Flora deep voice whispered. I frowned and dragged Flora into a secluded corner of the lobby.

I lowered my tone and ducked my head to hide my face. "What are you doing? You are not supposed to be in the lobby. What if fans attack you?"

"Don't worry. I am wearing a girly sunhat," she confidently replied with a thumbs-up sign.

_Cause the hat hides everything_.

I shook my head at her feminism. "Anyways, why did you come out?"

"My nerves couldn't stand being with all those well-known people in the judge box. They ask me questions I can't answer."

"Oh look! Venting time has ended. It's time to go back."

"Riven," she softly whined with her masculine bass voice.

I smirked at how she tried to use her feminine charm on me in MY body. As if she could seduce me in MY body. The time when I fell for her feminine charm while she was in my body would be the time when the world flipped over to the dark side.

I placed reassuring arms on her shoulders. "Just do what I advised you to do. I've already given you advice on how to interact with every single damned judge in there."

Flora obediently complied. "By the way, did you know Musa was in the competition before hand?"

My brows rose, as arms fell from her shoulders. I nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I forgot? Do we have to tell each other _everything? _It's not like I'm one of your chatty girlfriends," I grumbled. "Anyways, will you go back now? People can't see you out here."

This time she was the one to put her hands on my shoulders. "Don't worry dear. I know. I know. I'll leave, but before that...can I take the bed tonight?"

"Don't be delusional," I snorted before making my way back to my seat before the show's theme song started playing.

"AAAAaaaannnddd….Welcome back to Masters of the Stage. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the well renowned ballet dancer, Codatorta, onto the stage."

My left eye twitched at the toned well renowned ballet dancer, who's body built was made more for boxing than a ballet. Tchaikovsky started playing as the man raised his arms into an elegant poses.

I gaped when I watched him lift his legs into high positions and with ease. Somehow, Codatorta landed on the ground like a feather, and contrary to my expectation, he had the flexibility of gymnast despite his bulky frame. I had expected for Codatorta to perform like Hulk, but surprisingly, he had grace.

The audience gave a standing ovation after the music ended. The large yellowish ogre-like man beside me cried a lake. Codatorta awakened the ogre's inner ballerina.

The world has officially flipped over to the dark side.

"We will now announce the results! Will all the contestants go back onto the stage."

One by one, each person walked up in a tight straight line. Some nervously shook while others managed to keep their cool like that the Trix.

"We will now read the names of the people who passed starting with the solo/duet block. If your name is read, please walk off the stage. Now, may the results begin!"

Strained music started filtering in while Avalon opened the envelope containing the lengthy list of accepted contestants.

"Roy and Jared!"

Too bad.

"Alice!"

"Pete!"

I could see Musa's increasing nervousness as time passed and name wasn't read.

"Ahisa and Kimmy!"

"Finally we have come down to our last two contestants in this block. Who will it be? Mitzi or Musa?"

A series of strained beats started playing, and Mitzi and Musa's faces stiffened up with heart-racing suspense as Avalon declared the results.

* * *

_Well, that was short. Well, that means a faster update right? Rawr. The evils of summer school. _

_Renachi_


	17. Growing Affections

_Disclaimer: Life is a box of chocolates. - Forest Gump_

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – GROWING AFFECTIONS**

I gulped, hard.

_What? Why? How?_

The first expression that struck my dear Musa's face was de gnial. The result could not sink into my mind and left me in a state of raw denial.

Musa lost to….Mitzi, the girl who got the composite score of…eighteen?

Eighteen. Musa had twenty-four. There must have been some mistake.

While Musa's lips opened in shock, Mitzi gladly walked off the stage, brimming with pride.

"Something must have gone wrong," I whispered with timid assurance. "Something."

"You liked that woman's performance that much?" a mechanical voice asked. I turned to the person sitting across from me in the recliner, her face stone cold.

My mind tried to register the face talking to me again. It was Tecna was the CEO of Zenith Corporations , a judge in the choir block. I hadn't understood how Tecna became a judge with a career having nothing to do with performing and music, but after seeing her assigning scores as if she had a rubric in front of her eyes, I understood why.

"You gave her an eight which logically translates to it was a good performance," she continued. "Of course you could have given her nine or ten, which might have saved her from elimination."

I could have saved Musa.

I felt a sting of guilt twitch my nerves, but I didn't show it. I curly nodded and tried to look as stoic and Riven-like as possible while I recalled Riven's words of wisdom for surviving in the judge box.

_The Riven Golden Rule #1: Be taciturn._

"It's pity," Stella pointed out, flipping her golden locks over her shoulder and crossing her legs. "She lost because she couldn't garner enough votes. To succeed in the entertainment, you need popularity, style, and luck, not just talent. She just didn't stand out compared to the other performers while the infamous Mitzi left a lasting impression."

"Stella, don't you think that you may be a little…too cruel? I'm sure being placed at the end of her block was an extreme disadvantage, especially after all those spectacular performances," Bloom said. Bloom was the fresh heiress to the Domino music productions, a recently revived company that almost went bankrupt a few years ago, and a judge in the band block.

_The Riven Golden Rule #2: Take note of every head in the room and study them like a bookworm._

"Bloom, you need to understand that advantages and disadvantages don't matter in our world. Take it from someone who grew up in the entertainment world." Stella shook her head with a pretentious air as if it was a chore to talk, but she was obviously enjoying herself. "To be successful singer in this world, the music world, it takes more than just a pretty voice that can sing pretty tunes to get popular and recognized."

Bloom pursed her lips as if she were going to refute, but ended up giving a sigh of resignation. "Maybe," she said with uncertainty.

It takes the right timing, luck, appearance, charisma, and so, so, _so_ much more ." Stella dramatically sighed. "Bloom, you have so much more to learn darling."

_The Riven Golden Rule #3: If all fails, just ignore them._

And those were the three golden rules.

I conveniently tuned out Stella. All I could think about at that second was Musa as I watched Musa sadly waved goodbye to the audience, trying her hardest to look strong. That petite, fragile girl couldn't deceive my eyes. I could see the disappointed tears threatening to spill as she talked to the camera about how she felt about her loss.

"Excuse me," I muttered as I saw Musa walk out of the camera's view. I rushed outside, almost forgetting to disguise myself because of my worry for Musa. The night air pricked my skin, forcing me to bury my face in my trench coat even deeper than before.

I found Musa sitting outside on a lone bench, emptiness pooling her in eyes and snatching sprit away from it like a leech.

"Musa."

Her eyes glanced up and lit up slightly. Her mouth slowly formed the word, "Who?"

"Riven."

I watched as her eyes lit up with even more surprise before the darkened again. "I don't need your pity." Negativity spilled out from her voice.

"Musa…"

"I told you I don't need pity!" Musa cried, this time looking more distraught than before. "Just leave me alone."

I forgot about everything else, but the sole task to rescue my best friend from her agony. I involuntarily reached out and pulled her towards me into an encompassing embrace.

I heard a few sniffles before a more choked sob, but Musa didn't spill out words. She just sobbed and sobbed till her eyes dried up.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed since she started crying, and it didn't matter anyways. If it took Musa zillions of hours to get out all those tears from her system, then so be it.

After crying, Musa stayed silent for a moment or two, resting her head on my shoulder. "Riven?"

"Yea?

I the slight movement of her throat as she swallowed. "T-Thanks," she replied hesitantly.

"No problem. Got all those tears out?" I calmly answered. I finally let out of her and faced her. Musa's eyes lazily looked up and glanced at mine before she slowly nodded like an obedient child. "Good. When life knocks you down you have to stand back up, ok?"

Her lips cracked into a cheerful smiled that peered out from tear-stained mask with runny eyeliner. I smiled back as she giggled. "You sound like a close friend of mine." Then her eyes widened. "Are you crying?"

I blinked, and, to my surprise, discovered that my eyelashes were moist. Musa panicked for a second, and I had a feeling why. She thought that the Motorcycle Badboy Riven would never cry.

"No?" I tried, but I didn't sound convincing. "I yawned?"

I knew that Musa didn't buy the lie, but she pretended like she did. "You should probably get going." She fussed with a lock of herhair as her eyes glanced up before jerking back down when I met her gaze, as red painted her alabaster cheeks.

I suddenly felt self-conscious and remember that I was Riven—thee Riven—her idol. And I, as her idol, had just let her cry on my shoulders_. _Apprehension gathered in my gut.

_Oh dear…_

I took one look at Musa's eyes, and I knew that Riven was right. The emotion in her eyes didn't convey a simple thanks; it showed a passionate emotion, one full of admiration and affection. I wanted to stay in create excuses for myself so I wouldn't have to accept the fact that I had seduced my best friend. But I couldn't.

Guilty has charged.

"I'll see you later…" Then I donned my disguise along with a blank face as I awkwardly walked back to the judge room, only to find it completely empty. I wandered around some more, trying to find Riven loitering around in the backstage halls.

Along the way, I spotted a man suffering under a tower of boxes in his hands. I walked up to the guy with curiosity and quirked an eyebrow.

"Um…You need help?"

"Who is this?" The man asked behind the tower of boxes

"Riven."

Silence.

There was a long, questioning pause before he finally replied, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

There was another long pause. "It's up to you."

I lifted the top box from the top pile with unexpected ease, so I took another box. "Where to?"

"The control room."

I watched the man walk ahead of me with anxiousness in each step, occasionally casting him a glance or two. After a minute of listening to the shuffling sounds of our feet and the moving sounds of the boxes' contents, I finally gathered the nerve to begin a conversation with the surly man.

"So, I was wondering if the show already ended."

"The show?" There was a nasty edge to his voice. "It ended half an hour ago."

A flash of shock registered on my face. _I been gone with Musa for almost an hour?_

"I see. Thanks. So, what's your name?"

There was another long pause, and I started to grow suspicious of all the pauses before his reply. "Jason Queen."

Jason Queen? The name sounded familiar. It sounded like the name of one of the idols Musa adored back in high school. "You have the same name as that old artist."

Jason smirked. "Yea. Whoever you are thinking about, that's probably me."

"Wait…" The gears in my mind processed the novel info. "_You_ are a singer?" I asked with unintentional disbelief.

"Ow. I know that I've regressed, but do I look that un-singerish? I used to work on the backstage before I became an artist. Seven years ago, I was a hot sensation but you know how the music world is like, the world loves you for a few years, then when they get tired of you the music industry spits you out like vomit. It's the cycle of life."

I had a brief wonder on whether the Specialists would die out eventually. The band seemed unreasonably famous with its gigantic fan base. Trying to imagine the band go obsolete felt odd like a hole in my gut.

"You better bask in your glory right now while you can," Jason continued. "Anyways, you seem different Riven. What is it? Let me guess. Did you have a life changing experience?" he said with a slight sneer to his voice.

"I did."

I inwardly laughed at the irony of his question. I had no idea how life changing the experience was. Riven did have a life changing experience, but the reason "Riven" was different was because he wasn't "Riven" anymore.

In other words, it's complicated.

"And here we are. Shall I welcome you into my office?"

We arrived at a door marked with the sign CONTROL ROOM. Jason set his boxes down with a thump and pulled out a ring of keys. With a click, the door opened. I quickly shuffled in and set down the energy taxing boxes, happy to rest my arms.

"The control room is your office?"

"…Nevermind." He sighed as started to dig through the contents of a box.

"Um…May I ask something?" I timidly asked.

"Spit."

"Was I that horrible in the past?"

Jason snorted. "_Oh no_. Of course you weren't," he sarcastically spat. "Just a month ago I got an unfair telling off from you because of some stupid lights thing that I didn't even understand. By the way, thanks for almost getting me fired."

Swallowing the guilty lump in my throat, I bit back my lip and replied, "Sorry." Somehow, Riven's past behavior made me feel responsible.

"It is fine. That unpleasant guy from a month ago is gone. Now you are a changed man. You've went from an asshole to a timid young dove."

I weakly laughed, another lump of guilt forming in my throat for me to swallow. I knew that that unpleasant man would be coming back after two more months, but even so, I had to lie.

"I guess you're right."

"I guess? Of course I'm right! Either way, I'm glad that you changed for the better dude. I don't want to relive that experience again." He shuddered.

I hoped so too. I had a feeling that there was something deeper to Riven's actions. The man had his bitter moments, but usually he didn't become unreasonable and a butt-head for no reason.

The last time I saw Riven's moody side was during his birthday when he saw his mom. Before that was when I told Mirta the secret. Surely something must have set him off a month ago or else he wouldn't have unreasonably told off a backstage worker.

Was it his mother?

"Anyways, it was a pleasu—nice meeting you Jason."

"Same."

I went back to my previous activity: wandering the halls aimlessly. The walk gave me time to think about stuff like Musa, Riven, how to live, morals, and so much more.

A firm hand planted itself on my shoulder, making my heart jump. When I turned around, the sight of Riven immediately comforted me. "Oh. It's you."

"It's me? I've been looking for you everywhere this past hour! Why didn't you answer your phone?" Riven scolded.

I blinked before realization crossed my face and I blushed from embarrassment. "Sorry. I think my phone was on silent."

Riven just grunted and shook his head. I expected more scolding, but it didn't come. "It's ok. Let's go back to the resort."

I decided to try to ask one more time. "Can I sleep on the bed tonight?"

"Don't push it."

* * *

_Woah. Has it happened before? I don't know what to write._

_EDIT: I remember what I was going to say. Musa fans - I mean YOU may kill me now. _

_Renachi_


	18. Nearer

_Disclaimer: And all the character who belonged to Straffi lived happily ever after._

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN – NEARER**

The first thing knew of when I woke up was Flora giving me a butterfly kiss. At first, I did the stupidest thing and pinched her nose close, chuckling when she started to gasp, but frowning when she blew a gust of morning breath straight into my face.

Then I laid there for a few more seconds, trying to process every single little curve, groove, and crease in her face—my face— until reality hit me.

Turns out I'm extremely slow when I first wake up.

It took my almost a minute to fully comprehend the meaning behind Flora sleeping right next to me in bed. A yell rang through the room when I finally had my overdue realization. Flora immediately jerked up with a gasp, her eyes only half open, before she falls back down on the pillow and goes back to sleep.

"Hey! Flora!" I shook her shoulder gently at first, but after seeing that she wouldn't response, I shook more violently. "Flora! Flora! Yo Flora, you tree hugger!"

"Just…Five more minutes," she mumbled, not even opening her eyes a crack.

Ticked off, I pulled the sheets off her and watched as she curled up into a tight ball because the sudden exposure to cool air. Luckily she had dressed herself in gray sweat pants and a hot pink tank top with sunflowers. Sunflowers…worn by my body?

No comment.

She didn't move, but I assumed she would eventually get up after I finished getting ready in the bathroom since she was a morning person that usually woke up before more. Wrong. Twenty minutes later, she still laid on my bed.

"Flora!"

Flora grumbled and forced herself to sit up though her eyes still were glued shut. "What?" she slurred.

"I'm not sure if you have noticed…But you are on my freaking bed! Get off!"

Pause. "Huh?"

"You. Are. On. My. BED."

Flora forced one eye open and lazily casted a weary look at me. "On my bed?" It finally dawned on her as she crawled over to the edge and scurried off. Her flushed face twitched, frazzled and bewildered. "S-Sorry. I must have sleepwalked."

"Perfect. You sleepwalk and Musa sleepsings. No wonder you two were roommates."

Flora gave a grouchy frown. "I must have slept really badly last night on the couch or else I wouldn't have slept walk or woke up this late. Told you that you should have let me sleep on the bed." She sluggishly walk towards the bathroom door, her eyes still closed, and, painfully slammed into the wall in the process.

"Well that's attractive. So much for the mature Flora."

I headed to the kitchen to whip up a bowl of cereal. Flora came through the kitchen door a few minutes later. By then, the sun had already risen high in the sky, shining its radiant light past the room's curtains. Flora delicately touched her magenta-dyed hair.

"Why do men have such complicated hair?" Flora commented as she filled a bowl with golden corn flakes.

"The question is why do YOU have complicated hair? I was tempted to cut it all off just for the convenience."

Flora gaped and pursed her lips angrily, a slight pout hanging from her thin lips. "I spent a long time growing out that hair."

"Which is why I didn't cut it. You should be thanking me you know."

Flora gave a gigantic yawn and glanced at me with droopy eyes. "Thank you," she said without a hint of actually gratitude in her tone.

We enjoyed a breakfast of cereal and fruit. Flora had grown accustomed to eating lighter meals while working because many other things demanded her time. She had no choice. Even if she didn't want to, Flora no longer had the time to cook nice warm meals everyday while she juggled her job as a judge and pianist.

Munch. Munch.

"Why didn't you bring your own car again?" I unwillingly surrendered. Refusing Flora's favors became increasingly harder for some odd reason.

"Because this world doesn't need any more smog," she replied with her preachy tone, lifting her spoon up in the air and wagging it at me. Being eco-friendly was not easy. "By the way, can you wear more when you go to sleep?" She bowed her head with embarrassment but I didn't miss the tint of red on her face. I smirked.

"You should be kissing my feet. At least I don't tear off that suffocating bra when I sleep. And why do women wear a permanent wedgie."

"Do you mean a thong?"

"Exactly."

Painfully prude and confused, Flora blushed. "Then right now you're wearing…"

"Boxers of course."

Flora heaved a long sigh.

ººº

An hour later, I found myself chilling in a practice room with a cup of coffee in, enjoying the intoxicating smell of coffee beans. Flora was on a break and had excused herself to go to the ladies room—technically the men's room—and left me reclining on the comfy, black leather couch in room.

For the past half an hour, Flora had played some of her mastered pieces for me, surprising me. I had predicted that she wouldn't be able to manage the towering list of songs we had to play for the upcoming concert. I was wrong. I had to give the girl her due respect. She mastered twelve of the thirty songs in a month, which is no easy feat. The other eighteen songs she could already play albeit with errors in many places. As she practice, I gave a few tips and corrected a few of her mistakes. Flora seemed to like that, and strangely enough, I did too.

Suddenly, fierce knocking sounded at the door.

"Let me in!" a desperate voice's hiss reached a scream with such urgency that it felt more like a scream. My body jumped slightly at the sudden noise as I warily eyed the door.

The violent pounding continued much to my annoyance. I unwillingly trudged to the door to open it. The minute the lock came lose, the door flung open, and a petite sprite jumps into my arms, turned around to gently shut the door and locked it. I quickly recognized her figure.

"Mu-"

"Shhh…" she hushed, turning her attention to the door with strained concentration. Musa pressed me against the wall, tension spilled from her skin like sweat and entered into me like a disease as time slowed and frantic footsteps sounded outside the room.

"Musa? Musa!" a smooth, tenor voice called from behind the door. I sent Musa a look of confusion. "Where did she go?"

Dark eyes curiously peeked through the tiny window on the door. I immediately recognized the face to be the Roy's partner, Jared.

"Oh shit!" Musa grabbed my shirt and pulled me to the ground, forcing me to collapse into a kneeling position beside Musa. My eyes widened as her breasts stared back at me and would have activated my male hormones if I had any at the moment.

Musa eyes never left the door as she sat beside it till Jason's face left disappeared from the window and the steady footsteps grew inaudible. Finally the anxiousness left her, and she heaved a heavy sigh.

"Finally!" she cheered.

"What the heck?"

Musa turned to me with a shocked expression, pure bewilderment lit up in her eyes. Then she flew to the other side of the room, the furthest point away from me she could be. I winced at her reaction. I should have been the one to fly to the other side of the room.

"What? Did I have a bug on me?" I sneered, whipping my head away and lowering my red cap to cover my face.

Bewilderment replaced the sharp look of astonishment on her face before it faded into one of bewilderment and guilty. Musa crawled back to where I sat, and stared at me apologetically."Oh my bad dude. Sorry. You startled me."

"More like terrified," I scoffed, narrowing my eyes dangerously at her, which hid behind the cap.

"I said sorry! Geez." Musa bit back her lower lip and pursed them, a look of guilt settling on her face. "I shouldn't have barged in here."

I just grunted in reply, giving Musa the silent treatment.

"Ok! I have a question to ask you, but it may anno—"

I looked up, and narrowed my eyes. "What?"

"Are you a man or a woman?"

I tensed up, and broke out in sweat. Had she already figured it all out already? She recognized me fast.

"Of course a man," I confidently lied.

"Cool. I was just wondering cause you know…you have such a high voice." Her brows knitted together and her navy blue eyes stared at me suspiciously. "And to tell you the truth, it actually sounds really, really, really, really, really, really, reaaally, familiar. Have we met?"

"Nope. First time seeing you." I cleared my throat before I desperately change the subject, "So, you care to explain what the heck happened out there?"

"Um…Well…" she droned on nervously before muttering things to herself, "Hm…It should be all right. Yea…I'll tell you."

"So…"

"Well, basically Jared is annoyingly determined to make me become his partner on the show. I don't really know why but he is adamant even though I declined. He wouldn't gave up so I ran, but the man is like sticky glue. I couldn't shake him off my track."

I paused, and tried to understand Musa's problem. I had yet to discover why Musa ran away from him. "Isn't that…a good thing?"

"How?" I wanted to smack my head at Musa's dumbfounded expression.

"Well, first of all, you are eliminated from the show. You want to get back on. Jared is offering you that opportunity. What are you complaining for? You do want to get back on the show, right?"

"Of course! It's my dream to become a singer," she snorted with a roll of her eyes before realization dawned. "Oh…I didn't see it that way."

I wanted to smack my forehead the idiocy of certain beings in the world but utilized self-control. Destroying Flora's brain cells would cost me heavily.

"Well, now that you know, go find him," I casually said, gesturing my hand towards the door.

"But…Jared? I'm not really interested in him."

"So?" I rolled my eyes, wondering why I was even explaining the whole concept in the first place. "You want to be back in the competition right?"

"Definitely."

"Then it shouldn't matter if you want to work with him or not. Now go find him. Shoo"

"Ok, ok. I will. Thanks dude! You helped a lot." She showcased her pearly whites. "By the way, I don't think I got your name."

"Riv—No. Flo—" My lips froze as I tried to invent a response. I couldn't respond with my real name, but on the other hand, I couldn't very well say that I was Flora and a invite a string of dramatic troubles. I needed to think of a new name. Any name.

"Florid."

"Florid?" Musa furrowed her eyebrows, and cringed slightly. "That's an interesting name."

I shrugged. "My mom was high on crack when she named me." The fact that my mom was high could have been true. I mean, who names their child Riven. Riven? What the heck does Riven mean? River?

"Well, thanks for the advice Florid, and bye" Musa got up, opened the door, and squeaked. "Riven!"

"Musa," Flora gasped. She blinked with, wide-eyed and lost. "What…are you—" Flora looked at me suspiciously.

"I didn't do anything." My hands flew up in defense, and I backed away from the door.

Musa eyes darted to the foor, blush coloring her fair cheeks, and then turned at Riven with a head shaking like a vibrating phone. "Florid didn't do anything Riven. It was nice seeing you, but I have to take care of something. See you later."

I poked my head out of the door and watched Musa's disappearing figure leave the hall, with Flora. My eyes shone with curiosity as I envisioned the next round with a smirk.

I couldn't wait to see everyone's reaction when Musa stood on the stage with Jared. I couldn't help but wonder why he suddenly needed a new partner. Did he get in a fight with Roy? My smirk grew even wider.

_Good going Jared._

When she had turned the corner, Flora met my eyes with her a perplexed expression. "Florid?

I frowned and crossed my arms defensively. "She asked me at the last second and I couldn't think of any other name."

"I understand, but Florid? I think it means fancy, and you are the totally opposite from fancy."

"Fancy? You mean, you don't fancy me?"I leaned into Flora's face, my deep green eyes in line with her violent ones, and reveled in pleasure when her face became red, indignant and baffled."You can't judge a name that I came up with in a few seconds," I said with a gravely before mischievously smirking. "I doubt you could do better."

"I-I-I-I m-meant the noun not the verb. Fancy means elaborate."

As I leaned backwards, Flora gave the most adorable pout I ever saw—what? Did I just call a pout on my masculine face…_adorable_?

Oh great. I knew I would turn into a narcissist sooner or later with a body like that. Screw fate.

"Anyways, just go practice your piano. You still have like what….80 more pieces to master?"

"_Eighteen._ I only have eighteen more," Flora grumbled, another cute pout on her lips.

"…Can you stop with that look?"

Flora gazed at me with innocent, oblivious eyes, and I knew at once that I had fallen into a deep pit with no way out.

ººº

I couldn't resist wildly grinning when Avalon announced the upcoming performance o f Jared and Roy. I'm sure I looked insane to onlookers. It was the first night of Round Two with the theme of LOVE, and all the other contestants had already performed. Roy and Jared were assigned the last performance for the night, the spot assigned to all first place winners of the previous round.

By the time the last performance came around, my patience had run out. I carefully looked at Flora's calm expression on the big screen that was soon to be startled with surprise and hope. I knew that seeing Musa back onstage would make Flora happy, and oddly enough, that warmed my stone heart.

It finally came..

The spotlight fell on Roy in a tux. He stood all alone on the stage, nurturing murmurs of confusion in the audience. Then he started singing.

"_Love is a many splendoured thing, love, lifts us up where we__  
__belong, all you need is love."_

Another melodic voice sounded: _"Please don't start that again."_

The murmurs got louder until a spotlight followed Jared's figure. He moved forward and exposed Musa in a sleek crimson dress to match her lipstick. Loud gasps exploded. I smirked when I imagined Flora's expression. Was she happy?

_Love is a many splendored thing,  
Love lifts us up where we belong,_

_**Please don't start that again.**_

_All you need is love!_

_**A girl has got to eat!**_

_All you need is love!_

_**Or she'll end up on the streets!**_

_All you need is looooove!_

_**Love is just a game.**_

_I was made for loving you baby, _

_You were made for loving me._

_**The only way of loving me baby, **_

_**Is to pay a lovely free.**_

_Just one night,_

_Give me just one night._

_**There's no way, **_

_**Cause you can't pay.**_

_In the name of love, _

_One night in the name of love._

_**You crazy fool, **_

_**I won't give in to you.**_

They kept singing with such realistic expression, that you would think it were real, not just an act. What a half lie.

_Don't leave me this way, I can't survive, without your sweet love,_

_Oh baby, don't leave me this way._

_**You'd think that people would have had enough of silly love songs.**_

_I look around me and I see, it isn't so, oh no._

_**Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs.**_

_Well what's wrong with that, I'd like to know, cause here I go again!_

_Love lifts us up where we belong, where the eagles fly, on a mountain high._

_**Love makes us act like we are fools, throw our lives away for one happy day.**_

_We could be heroes, just for one day._

_**You, you will be mean.**_

_No I won't!_

_**And I, I—I'll drink all the time.**_

_We should be lovers!_

_**We can't do that!**_

_We should be lovers, and that's a fact._

_**Though nothing, will keep us will keep us together.**_

_We could steal time…_

It was at this moment Musa turned around had put on a gentle smile devoid of nervousness. I wondered if that woman even knew she was still onstage. Their voices broke out in harmonic unison

**Just for one day**

**We could be heroes, for ever and ever.**

**We could be heroes, for ever and ever.**

**We could be heroes…**

_Just because I will always love you._

_**I…**_

**Can't help loving you.**

The excited in the atmosphere went down a notch as the audience listened to the final moments of their performance, stunned.

_**How wonderful life is…**_

They both were holding each other, their faces so close together that they might as well have been kissing. The passion was palpable in the air as they gazed into each other's eyes. Then their joined together in a beautiful blend of unison.

**Now you're in the world.**

Then the lights shut off completely once their voice faded away, and the crowded erupted into a wild applause asking for more. They went wild like fireworks, screaming, hooting, and crying like maniacs. The lights came back on and Musa and Jared stood in front of the judges, waiting for the verdict.

The cameras zoomed in on the judges who had huddled together and were probably discussing whether the performance was legal. I knew exactly what I needed to do.

"Say, 'I was fine with the performance. I think Musa should be let back in.'"

After a few more seconds, the huddle released.

"Avalon?" Palladium began in a timid tone.

"I have just been told that the partnering of Musa, last round's eliminated, and Jared, last round's winner, should be fine as long as they do some…explaining."

Eyes turned to the two guilty ones.

"Well," Jared weakly began, "I had issues with my last partner so we split. I don't know what he's doing now but—"

People gasped as Roy walked out onto the stage, his hand dragging another singer I recognized, Alice. Roy sent a chilly glare to Jared who responded with a cringe wile Alice scowled at Roy and tried to escape from his grip by using her navy blue hair as a whip.

"I have a new partner too," Roy announced with a harrumph.

"I've already performed!" she screeched as she tried hitting his shin this time with her stiletto. Roy fell down to the floor in agony as Alice angrily stomped away.

The whole auditorium fell into a strange state of shocking silence as Roy crawled off the stage in humiliation.

"So…I guess Roy is disqualified, and we have a new pair, Musa and Jared. Please welcome team Musa & Jared!"

The audience went insane, showing their newfound love for the pairing. Jared beamed with happiness and Musa awkwardly smiled and waved.

"So as for the scores—AHEM!—Palladium?"

"Ah yes! Of course. Well, I thought your performance was just spectacular. It really showcased your powerful tenor voice this time Jared. And as for Musa, this performance transformed you into a star. You didn't just sing out there; you acted. Both of you did."

Cheers.

"Amazing! And like Palladium said, spectacular. I felt in love!" Stella half squealed and sighed with mirth.

I cleared my throated and prepared myself to give out orders, but then I changed my mind at the last second, "You know what to say Flora."

Flora's expression the screen brightened, as if she had been lifted from some kind of spell, and in theory she had been. The mask of Riven had fell off her.

"I—I thought that was just lovely."

…Lovely? Riven does not say lovely.

I think Avalon had tears in his eyes. "Thank you to both of you for that SPECTACULAR performance. You both may be seated. Now, for the scores."

"Ten!"

"TEN GIRL!"

"Ten?"

I sighed with relief as the judging ended smoothly. Inside of me, a seed of pride for Flora was planted, and at the same time, I felt a bit lonely. Flora had done fine without my help, and somehow that made me feel like a freaking mother bird seeing her babies leave the nest. It was definitely the female hormones kicking in.

ººº

Flora was definitely overflowing with sappy giddiness as she stared outside the car window at the passing scenery.

"You are happy aren't you?" I sneaked a glance at me, but Flora when replied with a grin of mirth, my eyes darted back on the road.

"Am I? I mean, she won the round!" she replied with a bounce to her voice.

"You really care for Musa don't you?"

From the corner of my eye, I saw her give me a questioningly look as if I had just asked the most oddest rhetorical question in the universe. "Of course. She's my best friend."

I paused for a second, wishing to be in Musa's shoes for a second if it meant that I could be the direct cause for Flora's happiness, for Flora's smiles, and for the warm twinkle in her eyes. "She's lucky."

"What do you mean?"

What did I mean?

"Well, she has someone who would become so bipolar just for her."

"Thanks." She took the insult as a compliment again before returning to pensively glancing out of the car at the blur of city lights. I watched her let her mind wander and saw the nighttime breeze tickle her maroon hair. Then her eyes widened.

"What?"

"Oh nothing. There was a frozen yogurt place back there." She hopeful pointed backwards, biting back her lower lip, and blinking my eyes with forced innocence. I eyed her pools of incomprehension in his olive-green eyes and weakened my jaw.

I sighed and did a U-turn. "I feel like celebrating."

"But you hate parties."

"Shut up. I feel like celebrating so we will celebrate," I ended with heavy finalization.

She let out a chuckle, making my ears perk up. When I looked at Riven, I met an entertained face and somehow, it comforted me, bringing a smile to my own face as an odd feeling wrapped around my chest. "You sure like sweets. It's an unexpected side of you."

"So I like sweets. Is it bad?"

"Nah. It just adds a cute twist to your 'cool' image."

My face went against me and twisted into a bashful smirk of confusion, dissatisfaction, and pleasure while Flora giggled at my response. When we entered the shop, we ordered our frozen yogurt and settled down into a booth to eat and chat. Flora regarded my yogurt with uncertainty clouding his eyes.

"You really like strawberries."

I glanced down at my frozen yogurt, a mesh of vanilla and strawberries, then I looked at Riven's frozen yogurt full of strawberries piled on top of each other. "I could say the same."

"I knew it." Flora playfully swiped my spoon at him.

"Knew what?"

"You penchant for strawberries. People eat their favorite last, and you always eat the strawberries last."

"You know me so well," I sarcastically drawled. I almost didn't notice the feel of my face muscle tug on my expression. Moments later I noticed the slight curl at the corner of my lips and caught myself genuinely enjoying myself.

"Well, I'm getting to know you more and more."

I crooked a eyebrow. "Is that a good or bad thing?"

"Good thing of course. Do you know that you used to confused and scare me a lot? Well, you still do on certain occasions."

Dissatisfied, I frowned and leaned forward to delicately prop his chin on the heel of his hand. "I scare you?"

"You used to." She ducked ger eyes to hide the blush floating to the top of her skin, but I caught bright color with my eyes trained on eyes.

"Good or bad?" I could see the innocent hope blossoming in his eyes and smiled.

"Good."

Riven seemed satisfied with that response, so he ended the conversation to eat his melting delicacy. As we exited the store with satisfied smiles on our faces—well, at least mine— a shrill pierced the chilly air, making me hop in fright.

"Riven!"

A slender figure suddenly rushed towards me.

No.

A slender figure suddenly rushed towards Flora, colliding her into her body and sending her tumbling to the ground

* * *

_Summer is nearing its end for me. I'm sad. And just to let you know, the song in this chapter was Elephant Medley from the movie Moulin Rogue. I almost forgot to credit. _

_Renachi_


	19. Scandals

_Disclaimer: Majority of these characters belong to Straffi._

* * *

**CHAPTER NINETEEN- SCANDALS**

Then next thing I knew, a stranger's body crashed into mine, sending us tumbling to the rough pavement. A muffled grunt escape from my lips as my eyes fluttered open so I could discover, to my horror, a random lady sprawled on top of me, her soft lips pushing down on my own, and her slender body pressing up against mine. Her peppermint breath engulfed my taste buds as her auburn hair brushed the side of my face.

Then she slipped her wet tongue in.

I should have squealed, squirmed, or do something, but instead, I just laid there, as stiff as a rock. It felt like the kiss lasted for an excruciating year before she finally let go to take a huge breath.

The woman licked her lips seductively and stared at me with alluring, golden eyes while she straddled my hips. I paled, frozen as the woman straddled me. "Strawberry flavored."

I bore no thoughts.

No words.

No emotions.

Just a mesh of horrification and bewilderment.

The woman suddenly choked as someone grabbed the collar of her lavender top and pulled her off me.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" Riven hissed with a malicious roar, eyes glinting like a demon that sent shivers down my spine. Riven's glowing verdant eyes sent shivers down my spine as they dangerously lowered, glinting like a murderous demon.

Fear didn't register on the woman's face, and instead, bewilderment spread to her eyes as she cock her head and asked, "Are you woman or man?"

"You are you kidding with me?"

The woman smiled with a dangerous glint in her eyes that made me timid. "Of course," she drawled. Her silky voice rolled off her tongue with precision and seemed to send shivers down my back as I recalled the moment scarred into my memory a minute ago.

_So that's how it feels to kiss a girl._

My head instantly heated up like a teapot and exploded from embarrassment.

"Let's go." Riven snarled once more and threw the woman to the ground before he violently grabbed my wrist and started running towards the car at a high speed.

Later on that night back in our rooms, I sat in the living and rubbed my temples with frustration, trying to recall the woman's face and voice. For some odd reason, that lady had set off siren in my memory. Everything about her seemed familiar, her voice, her body, her face, and so much more. I knew her. I was sure I did.

"Riven, do you know who that was?"

"Huh?"

"The woman who ki—"

"Halt. Don't you even dare to bring that up again," he interrupted bitterly, a deep frown marring his once apathetic face.

So I left the issue untouched and decided to ignore the curiosity in my mind that probed my memory.

ººº

"_So Sky wants to see you, me, and Riven in his office."_ Helia called me the a few days later, saying that the amazing person who presided over the band, the president of Erakylon, had issues he needed to discuss with the three of us.

I pursed my lips. "Office?"

"_Otherwise called his room at this resort. Room 367."_

I scrunched up my lips as I wondered what on earth would Sky, Eraklyon's famous president and a dashing, young man in his middle twenties who garnered the attention of many tycoons in the business world, need to meet me for. Many people credit Eraklyon's success to Sky and his first band, The Specialists. Before that first band, Eraklyon had been in deep debt…or so I heard from Musa.

In short, Sky, to me, was akin to…Superman.

Why would such a great man want to see me?

"Thanks for telling me. I'll be there soon."

"_See you soon."_

Right as I hung up, Riven came through the bathroom door, drying his wet honey-colored hair with the resort's white towel. "Who was that?"

"Helia."

Riven's eyebrows rose and an unreadable emotion flickered across his countenance before he gave a soft huff. A smirk crossed his face briefly before a frown replaced it while he hummed lowly in recognition before he continued to rub his hair dry. "And what did he say?"

"We have to go see Sky in room 367."

Riven's brows furrowed and he seemed a bit worried. "Why?"

I shrugged. "He didn't say."

"I think I might know what it is," Riven smartly said, a corner of his lips tugged up into an annoyed smirk.

"What?"

"He's sick."

"Really? With the cold?"

"No. With Diarrhea. Verbal diarrhea, and he needs a toilet, badly, so he called for us," he mumbled before he walked back into the bathroom, leaving me wondering on the real reason Sky wanted to see us.

ººº

"And…here we are. Three-eight-seven."

Riven casually banged on the door, looking as if he the whole act seemed like a chore while me and Helia patiently waited. "Ding dong," he yelled.

When we received no response, Riven tried again, his raps on the door growing violent with each passing second. Finally, after a few minutes of waiting, the door swung open to reveal an anguished-looking rich man dressed in a noble blue robe. His perfect golden hair lazily framed his perfectly toned face while his perfect azure eyes sent us a perfectly timed welcoming gaze.

He look perfect, too perfect till it felt unreal, as if the whole event was staged.

"You still look the same." Riven stated in an uneventful voice

"Too bad I can't say the same thing about you."

As Riven indifferently strode in and plopped himself on a sofa, Sky rolled his eyes and ushered Helia and me into the dimly lit studio room after Riven easily propped his filthy shoes on the coffee table. "I see you haven't changed your behavior though." Sky shoved heaps of folders, papers, and laptops to the corner of the room as he tried to make room for us to sit.

"Why would I when dozens of people signed you rock, don't ever change in my yearbook?" Riven continued.

"They were probably classmates who feared you."

Riven snorted. "Anyways, so how are you doing? I see you still have that feminine boy band hairstyle."

"Give up Riven because no matter what you do, I'm not going to go dye my hair pink like you or get a mohawk."

"Maroon."

"Sure. Whatever you say, _Miss_," Sky spat back as he opened a tiny refrigerator filled with bottles of beer while Riven grimaced. Arms crossed defiantly, Riven narrowed his eyes and harrumphed. "Want one?" he asked me and Helia..

"That's ok," Helia rejected.

"Um…sorry. I don't drink," I timidly replied, unsure of how to act in front of such a rich man gallantly dressed in fine silk robes. Ever since I witness Riven's drunken state, I had decided not to drink alcohol for the rest of my life, even if it was only a drop since it only took a teaspoon to launch Riven into a drunken fit.

Sky glanced at Riven hesistantly, waiting for his answer..

"I'd rather not," Riven answered. The horrors of drinking had definitely engraved themselves in Riven's mind.

Sky turned to Helia who shrugged and held out an open palm to accept a cup of beer. After Sky poured the drinks, he settled down on a black leather recliner with arms resting contently on the arm rest. With his sleek hair and draping robe, Sky's form mirrored a sleazy, rich man who would have hostesses propped up around him like human-sized cutouts.

"Anyways, I called you three here to talk about something important."

Sky drew out a photo from the inside of his robe and threw it towards us like a playing card. At first, a huge wave of confusion enveloped me as I glanced at the photo with woman straddling a man. It took me a few seconds to realize that the man being straddled by promiscuous lady was me.

"Aw shit," Riven whispered. Helia blinked with disbelief as he looked at the screen, then pointed at me, and then looked back the screen.

"What a resemblance," Helia whistled, still looking at me with a mix of curiosity, worry, confusion, and sadness.

"I got this picture from an inside source. So what is the story behind this?" Sky asked. "Flora was it? Why were you being kissed by Darcy, a member of the Trix?"

I gulped and opened my mouth to defend myself but not before my face heated up with embarrassment and cried, "I'm haven't gone around kissing girls during my stay in Riven's body!"

"I'm sure you haven't, but then why were you two kissing?"

"I…I," I jittered, falling apart at the sudden revelation and grave atmosphere in the room.

Riven sigh and spoke up, scratching his scalp. "Look, it's not that complicated. Basically Darcy lost her marbles, pounced on Flora, and starting making out with her."

"Huh?" Sky gawked. "That's the most unreasonable story I've heard today."

Riven sighed again, acting like it was a pain to explain. "It's reasonable cause…my body is hot." I felt my heart plummet and face heat up at Riven's brazen statement. "And for the record, we didn't know someone took a picture. And Flora wore a well-made disguise. I can testify to that. Happy?"

"You're telling me that she recognized Flora in your body despite the thorough disguise?"

"Of course."

"You're telling me that Darcy somehow recognized Flora from her bone structure or something like that and then proceeded to kiss her."

"It's not like the disguise covered up every inch of the body! She could have recognized Flora from her damn chin for all I know!"

"Why the heck did she suddenly kiss her?" Sky turned to me again with accusing eyes. "Did you do something?"

_Did I do something?_

"N-No! No way," I replied, frantically shaking my head back and forth. "I don't have the slightly idea on what was going through her mind when she pounced on me."

"If it is someone's fault, it's probably mine. I was there too you know, not just Flora so stop questioning her like some criminal." Riven angrily locked his jaw and grinded his teeth idiots. "Don't think you are the only one frustrated Sky."

I couldn't help but stare at Riven with wonder. Had he just taken the blame for me? His words echoed in my mind, and I realized how nice Riven had been to me for the past two weeks.

"Fine. I understand. Luckily I've already covered up this scandal to a certain extent before the media could make this into a big time. As a final measure to cover up this troublesome event, I suggest that everyone deny any connection with Darcy and avoid her at all costs." Sky inhaled sharply. "Now onto the second item on my agenda. Flora, I think it's about time that I told you some details The Specialists since you are going to be deeply involved in our affairs for the next month or two."

My eyes lit up with wonder. _Details?_ I edged closer to the ridge of my seat to listen and leaned forward with curiosity. Sky responded enthusiastically to my eagerness and cleared his throat haughtily.

"Well, let's start from the beginning then. Long time ago, in a ga—"

"Sky. I swear I feel like ripping your tongue out together," Riven cursed while Helia just shook his head back and forth like a disapproving father.

"Ok then. Since some people can't appreciate a good solid ending, I'll make this short. In the beginning, before The Specialists became popular and I inherited the company, Eraklyon almost went bankrupt under my dad's ownership and almost sunk like the Titanic. Luckily I took over before that happened and learned that my dad had borrowed gigantic loans from…friends and the company had be doing poorly. Let's see…To continued further, I also have to talk about how the band came together.

"When I was in my second year of college, Brandon, Timmy, and I decided to make a band for fun…and to look cool in girls. Anyways, we needed more members, so we advertised, and then someone introduced us to Helia because of his talent with lyrics. We originally tried him out on the drums, but he broke out drum set with his insane strength, so he went on the bass. The hardest member to get was Riven because pigheadedness, but he eventually came around."

"Who's pigheaded?" Riven grumbled under his breath, frowning, but Sky easily blew off his comment.

"And that is how the band came to be with me, the prince of the school, as its singer."

Riven gagged at Sky's vain remark as Helia sighed.

"During my third year of college, my dad fell ill and my mother had to take care of him, so I took over the company. That is when I discovered how bedridden in debt Eraklyon had grown to be. The company would have gone into bankruptcy if Brandon hadn't proposed a idea. 'Eraklyon need a big success, a spark to galvanize the company back to life,' he said, 'And that spark will The Specialists.' Everyone was skeptical at first, but we decided to give it a try.

I hadn't expected for the band to grow this famous and successful the band; no one did. However, when the band grew in popularity the debts didn't immediately disappear in a flash. It took time and the whole big reason is because of that…that…EVIL CONTRACT WITH TECNA."

Confusion blurred on my face, but I still sat at the end of my seat, attentive and interested.

"THE END," he boomed the heavy finale with great importance.

Sky had completely lost me with his sporadic storytelling.

"Sky think you are tired from the stress," Helia worriedly pointed out.

"Helia, don't blame Sky's unbearable qualities on stress," Riven scoffed, rolling his eyes mockingly. "So Sky, what was the purpose of telling her all of this again?"

Piercing blue eyes stared at me with intensity that reminded superiority. He was going to say something insightful, but then Sky shrugged. "Don't know."

_How did these people become successful?_

My expression twisted as I realized that I had just spoken my inner thoughts.

"How did we become successful?" Sky voiced, incredulous. "Why, it's because the band is managed under a brilliant president, plus they are talented, good-looking single bachelors. That's why keeping Brandon relationship a secret is of the utmost importance."

"I see." Everything started to make sense as Sky shared the band's secrets with me. I dejectedly concluded that the music industry was just too pitiful if a group of attractive men could simply manipulate it.

"Now that we are finish with this problem—" Sky eyes shifted to Helia with such determination that Helia inch backwards in his seat. "—on to Helia!"

Helia's brow creased with confusion. "What? I did something scandalous?"

"I wouldn't call it scandalous but..." Helia pursed his lips and furrowed his eyes in confusion, urging Sky to continue. "A day or two ago, in an interview, you said you had a woman you were interested in. Later on, fans complained on the internet. They said that the mysterious, feminine looking, man-loving, Helia was more attractive than one who could be enchanted by the female species. Helia belonged to everyone so no woman should hog him they said. In short, they want you to be gay."

Helia gaped, and angrily rolled his eyes. "I don't give a care what they want my sexuality to be."

"You should try going bald. That will definitely stop people from thinking you are some kind of beauty. I bet you got asked out on dates by guys in highschool," Riven jokingly inserted.

"No, but one time, I did a favor for a friend and pretended to be a his girlfriend to scare of his stalker."

Sky seemed to have had a change of mind. His voice remained smooth but there was stiffness in his expression. He was obviously trying to act. "Ahem. Well, I understand if you don't want to tell them that you've come out of the closet."

"You were going to ask me to tell them I was closet?" Helia accused, insulted. Complete disbelief fell on his face.

"Of course not! Well…ok, maybe?" Sky tried to save himself when Helia's eyes started to burn. "It's not my fault bromance is becoming a fad. Take yaoi for example. I can go on forever about the marketability of yaoi (1). _Oh! _Yaoi, yaoi, yaoi, yaio. How I love thee. EVERBODY EMBRACE YOUR INNER SHOUNEN-AI FOR THAT'S THE WAY TO SALVATION!"

I shook my head and let myself out with a new hopeful thought in my mind.

_I do hope that poor guy is just showing the major side-effects of stress. _

Riven rolled his eyes and suddenly stood up from his chair. "Stupid. I'm leaving," he impulsively declared, sending a frigid glare at Sky before storming out the door.

"Riven! Wait!" I scrambled to my feet, about to chase after him, but I halted when a warm hand slipped into my own.

"I can send you back." Helia rich voice surprised me, eliciting the slight bounce of my shoulders as I glanced backwards.

"U-um…ok…"

He turned to Sky who looked ready to crash with his drooping lids. "So Sky, is that all you have to say?"

"Huh? Oh. Yea. That's pretty much it."

"Then I'll see you later. Go take a nap." Then with a strong grip on my hand he pulled me towards the door forcefully. A bit too forcefully. I wince at the strength of pull and tried to pull back, but his grip was like stone and wouldn't budge.

"Helia," I breathed as we neared the car.

Eyes widened for a brief second, he returned to reality as if he had awakened from dream and then look down at me, quickly releasing his grip with a quick, sincere apology. "Oh sorry. I was just thinking."His reply obviously hinted to a deeper reason.

Slipping into the passenger seat, I studied Helia carefully as he got into the car and started the ignition. My efforts were worthless because Helia wore an impenetrable mask. "Are you mad?"

"No. I was just thinking."

"Oh. I see," I replied, surprised by how crestfallen I sounded. Quickly deciding not to pry further, I shook my head and hurriedly changed the topic. "A-Anyways, you're sending me back right?"

"Actually, I was thinking of going to the beach. It's almost sunset. The sunsets at the beach are beautiful, and you haven't seen one before right?"

"Yea."

A warm smile fell on his lips, and his eyes emitted a mysterious twinkle that would make any girl's heart thump widly. There was a light blush on his cheeks as he focused on the road.

"Helia the Beautiful."

Confusion immediately replaced his previous dazed expression, a frown marring his face. "What?"

"Oh sorry. I just suddenly remember something Musa told me. Every single band member has a title, Riven the Devil, Timmy the Cutie, Brandon the Heartthrob, and Helia the Beautiful."

The frown deepened even further. "I don't want to be called beautiful."

I finally understood the insult in my words. Sky had just questioned his sexuality a few moments ago, and here I was, ruining his pride by calling a man beautiful. "S-S-Sorry," my lip quivered apologetically.

The corner of his lips immediately rose. "It's fine. It's fine if you're the one calling me beautiful."

I didn't get Helia words or the motive behind his words, but I decided not to worry about them any further as all of my wonderings and imaginative reasons made my mind throb. Before I knew it, we had arrived at the sandy beach just in time as the sky started fading into a gorgeous scenery.

Pink and orange painted the sky as the sun turned into a glowing ball that touched the western horizon ever so gently. As I stepped onto the sand, a salty breeze teased my hair while I enjoyed the serene sounds of the waves lapping onto the shore.

"Helia! It's really beau—"

I turned my head back and saw Helia sitting on a boulder in the sand, a pad propped on his knee and a utencil in his hand as she wrote something in his pad with an unmovable determination. His dazed eyes occasionally flickered upwards, and met mine, but quickly fell back onto his pad, and finally after a few more moments he closed the pad and started towards me.

"What were you doing?"

"Just sketching the sunset…and you."

My face heated up to a color that blended into the bright pink cotton ball clouds in the sky. "M-Me?"

Helia chuckled at my reaction and gave a friendly pat on my back. "No need to be so embarrassed. It's Riven's body in the sketch, not yours, though I would love for us to come back so I could sketch a proper picture with you in your original body in it."

A smile graced my lips. "That would be nice." Another gust of salty air blew straight into me, sending a chill up my spine. "It's getting colders."

"Yea. Autumn is ending soon. Next month should be winter already. I wonder if we will get any snow this year."

"Winter?" I frowned, my lips contorted into a squiggly, unreadable line. "Winter…"

Helia's brows scrunched together in confusion. "You don't like winter?"

"Other than the celebrations, I really, really don't like winter. During winter, it feels like the whole world is dead and the atmosphere drains my motivation. I'm scared of winter."

The sun had hidden behind the horizon, and darkness engulfed the sky as night settled in. While we started back towards the car Helia paused and started squinting at something further down the beach.

"Is that Riven?"

I trailed his gaze, and sure enough, at the end of it stood Riven…with Darcy. A sharp pang of jealousy and longing rang in my chest and it began to throb incessantly, trying to earn a trickle of tears from my eyes. I clutched my chest and my knees involuntarily went weak.

_Why was Riven with Darcy?_

Why was I feeling this way? Riven was just with another attractive woman on the beach…at night. Why did it matter so much to me.

But deep inside, I knew that I was jealous and insecure on whether Riven was attracted to Darcy who represented the classic seductress while I lived in a rugged man body. I had nothing I could use to attract Riven.

I was nothing.

But admitting it was harder than I thought it. Riven wasn't my boyfriend or anything. He wasn't yet I felt strangely possessive towards him and a surge of passion that weakened my legs when I envisioned him with someone else.

I knew it. I couldn't deny it. I had fallen for Riven.

_What do I do now?_

"Flora?" Helia looked confused. "What's wrong?"

I tried to clear up the distorting display of emotions on my face. "Nothing," I tonelessly replied. "Let's go back."

For the rest of the night I ignored the gnawing feeling of my gut and pretended to be asleep when Riven returned to the room, not daring to move a single muscle. I couldn't let him know my secret because my fear of losing my relationship with Riven overrode any speck of courage.

* * *

_(1) "__**Yaoi (Shounen-ai), **_also known as **Boys' Love**, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by female authors." - Wikipedia

___And the gears of tension start turning. About time. I made Sky is quite the eccentric character because his pristine character surely couldn't uphold over long periods __of stress. And, again, thanks to everyone who keeps reading along, even you phantom readers (I know who you are). Heads-up to the review who gave me my precious 50th review because you sound fun._

_Renachi_


	20. Idiot

_Disclaimer: I love Straffi. Oh yes I do. I love Strafii. And so do you._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY – IDIOT**

"Welcome back to Masters of the Stage for…"

Blah. Blah. Blah

I tuned out Avalon voice as I climbed out of the cheering audience. I had important priorities of the mind that were more important over watching the Result Night of the Final Round of Masters of the Stage, which could always be re-watched online.

To get away from the large crowds and lights, I wandered to a nearby park with brightly colored, deciduous autumn trees. Finally away from the auditorium where the final round's results were being announced, I thought. When I finally settled down, I lost myself in thought about Flora.

_Love…with Flora?_

_I am delusional._

_Delusional…that sounds kind of nice._

What Brandon had told me earlier messed up my reasoning ability. Since he had the most intellect when it came to women, I had decided to confer with him about my dilemma, but his reply left me more confused and annoyed than ever.

"AWWW…Little Riven is in love!" Sniff. Then he proceeded to dial Stella and bawl into the receiver. "Stella! Honey! He's leaving me!" Sob. Sob.

I vexingly rolled my eyes.

I refused to believe him that love created this novel feeling because if I love her, that meant I loved my body…which meant I was narcissistic.

_No. Riven, you are not narcissistic, _I told myself._ You're arrogant, and that's different._

I spotted a nearby couple cuddling like a cub and its mother on a bench underneath a dim lamplight. Our of curiosity, I tried replacing the couple with Flora and me. To my surprised, the image sent small flickering feelings into my gut.

_Am I in love with my own body?_

I shivered at the horrid thought.

Sure, I had a hot bode, but it definitely didn't turn me on me. I eagerly nodded. Yes, it definitely didn't arouse because…because female bodies aroused me, not male bodies.

I tried to bring up the image of a woman's body, any woman's body, and I recalled an accidental run-in with Darcy on the beach. During that night, I couldn't bear waiting patiently for Flora to return to the dorm, so I went to go get some fresh air, but I hadn't planned on meeting _her_.

Her lips stretched into a cunning grin and the air around her grew malicious. A dangerous glint flickered in her eyes as she glanced at me. "Why, it's the pixie."

I rejected her eye contact, but she continued.

"I've heard you are a staff member of the technical team of something? Well, I don't know what you are to Riven, but if you think you can hide your gender or the globs of fat on your chest from me with a pitiful disguise, you are severely mistaken."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I blankly replied.

"Trying to play innocent?" Darcy scoffed, a cruel sneer hanging from the edge of her lips. "The higher ups might have hidden the scandal, but after I left Riven with such a heavy first meeting, it is only a matter of time till Riven will come looking for _this_."

She motioned to her body. Her long, slender legs glistened. I could see the firm contour of her sharp hips beneath her tight, black leather miniskirt as her matching dark corset exposed a pair of plump breasts, enticing me to touch them. Her curvy figure that all models wished they had made me want to wrap her arms around her waist and trail my finger down to her large hips.

Darcy was the epitome of seduction. Refusing Darcy would be a monstrous task for me and Darcy somehow knew that, so she inched closer.

"You're a lesbian?"

_If I said I yes, would she accept me?_

I wrapped my arms around my slender waist and took a step back. Suddenly the thought of Flora crossed my mind and I surrendered all thought of being with Darcy. Darcy completely lost to Flora.

"No. I'm straight...hoe."

Then she laid a searing slap of my and sneered one last time before stomping away in fury.

I came back from my memory bank and remembered I had been walking through a dimly lit cobblestone path in the park, but I stopped walking during my journey down memory lane.

I loved Darcy who turned me on. If my emotions towards Darcy represented lust, what represented the feelings I have Flora?

What the heck was wrong with me? That witch, Griffin, must have casted some other spell on me back because when I glanced at Flora she attacked me with strange symptoms. My vision blurred, my knees grew weak, and I ended up losing myself in blissful paradise.

_Attacks. _

_Yes, that was what they are. _

_Attacks full of…hearts and glitter?_

I cursed underneath my breath, frustrated.

A single drop of rain fell from the clouds onto my cheek, and as I glanced up into the gray, night sky, thunder crackled like fireworks. More rain poured down in torrents, and the nearby couple squealed quickly hurrying out of the rain. I just stood there, letting the refreshing rain seep into the cracks of my body and inhaling the smell of soaks leaves on wet pavement.

I realized something as I heard the couple squeal and curiously watched the man heroically defend the petite woman from the rain without hesitation like a knight in shining armor with his only jacket, leaving only a flimsy shirt to shield himself.

_Love urges you to protect, to sacrifice your pride for the sake of another's happiness._

Was that how I felt towards Flora?

Flora, she had grown to be the world to me, and the more I stayed with her, the stronger my love grew for her personality, morals, and convictions. The longer I stayed with her, the more I respected her, the more I admired her, and the more I treasured her. Flora represented everything I wanted wished for. She brought balance to my life, a sense of tranquility that I desperately yearned for.

Love wasn't necessarily lust, but every feeling of love I had experienced before was lust. I hadn't identified my emotions because this time, I had fallen in love sans lust and physical attraction.

Did that even make sense?

Was that even possible?

Either way, the facts had always been there, spread out for me to accept.

My eyes widening with a new discovery, I sluggishly turned my head to the direction of the auditorium and squinted through my unruly hair being tossed by the wind and the violent streaks of rain. And like some kind of zombie, I started to walked back, slowly at first before breaking out into a dash.

How stupid could I have been? More idiotic than Stella that's for sure.

I needed to see Flora desperately, but I found difficulty with dragging my heavy legs that moved at the pace of a slug. By the time I got to Flora, everything had been boiled up into an uncontrollable geyser of emotion, but just the sight of Flora somehow tamed the geyser.

"What happened?" She worriedly ran over and dragged my wet, stringy hair that clung to my cheeks out of my face like curtains. "You're completely soaked and…" She placed the back of her hand on my forehead and gasped. "You're feverish."

"Flora, I've got to tell you something."

Flora's eyes brightened up, but it still didn't erase the fervent worry hazing her violet eyes. "What is it?"

"I think…I think I like…"

The world started spinning around me as the dizziness started to knock out my consciousness. I tried to reach for her lips but strength deserted me like a flock of birds. Then I saw her eyes widen as I felt myself going down.

* * *

_So there isn't much drama or action. It's just thoughts after thoughts after though. Moody (and shy) character think a lot. I hope I didn't kill any of my readers with the lack of dialogue. If it makes you feel better, I am empathize...but sadly I'm a sadist._

_Renachi_


	21. Happens Often

_Disclaimer: And all of the people on earth read knowing that these character DO NO belong to mwah. (c) Straffi_

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE – HAPPENS OFTEN**

Rain kept pouring down relentlessly as I absentmindedly stirred the cooking stew in the pot. I had a more important issue other than stirring stew selfishly occupying my mind against my will.

"_I think I like…"_

_You?_

I felt my heart clench and my face heat up again, and I unknowingly started stirring the stew extremely fast before I realized my strange dazedness. I sobered myself by giving myself a nice slap.

_What Riven said was a result of his insanely high fever. Don't get your hopes high for nothing Flora. Just ignore and forget last night._

However, his glowing face with eyes gazing at me so tenderly popped up in my mind again. I gave myself another slap.

"What are you doing masochist?"

I looked around a felt my heart skip a beat.

"R-R-R-Riven!"

I felt my face turn flushed as I diverted my eyes out of embarrassment. Even since I realized my feelings, making eye contact with him grew increasingly harder when I became self-aware, like right now.

He lazily looked at his surroundings "We're back home?"

I nodded. I tried to compose myself and numb myself to his presence. "I drove us back early because you had a high fever." I turned off the stove and walked over to Riven, placing a gentle hand on his forehead, and gave a satisfied nod. "It's cooled down quite a bit. Good. But seriously, please start taking better care of my body."

Riven let out a yawn, walking over to the stove to take a peek at what I was cooking. "What are you doing?"

"Making stew."

Riven furrowed his eyebrows for a second as if in deep thought, threw a unreadable expression at me.

"What?"

Riven casually replied, "Nothing," and walked toward the couches and collapse on them before taking a gigantic stretch. Then he turned his head towards a box sitting next to him, and a few seconds later, he plunged back up into the air like bouncing ball. Scurrying back over, he pointed back with a muddle expression.

"What the heck is _that_?"

"_That_," I started calmly, "is called a cat."

He shook his head with a low, feminine grunt. " I mean why is the _cat _here?"

"It's a stray I found crouching in the bushes, taking shelter from the heavy rain, so I gave it some milk, and brought it in." I playfully grinned and walked over to the couches, to reach my hands into the box. I lifted the furry white kitten, which desperately needed a good shower, and held it in Riven face. "Isn't he cute? I call him Riven Jr. Say hi to Riven, Riven Jr."

"_Riven Jr.?_" Riven asked in disbelief.

"Because he's like you."

Riven narrowed his eyes in utter confusion and took a firm good look at the kitten. "In what way is he like me?" He tentatively reached a finger out to graze the kitten's ear, and the kitten gently scuffed the finger, trying to catch it.

"He acts all tough and gets misunderstood by strangers when, in reality, he's kind." Glancing up at Riven's face, I saw his face contorting into an expression of embarrassment and pleasure, and I realized the weight of the compliment I had just delivered. I turned away my flushed face.

"Ahem…so let's eat."As I lifted my hand up scratch back of my head, Riven swiftly grabbed my wrist.

"You hurt yourself," Riven said. I glanced at the back of my hand, and realized what he was referring to.

"Oh. You mean this scratch? Don't worry because it'll heal really quickly because this body, your body, has thick skin."I lifted up wrist out of Riven grip and looked at the claw mark before I dropped my hand. "I got this from Riven Jr. on our first meeting. He was hostile when we first met just like you were. Like father like son."

Riven diverted his gaze and pursed his lips though I didn't miss the subtle hint of a smile. "I wasn't _that_ bad."

"Sure you weren't. Anyways, I'll go make the bed. You can go ahead without me and serve yourself."

I walked over to the bedroom to make the bed, but just when I finished, I could hear a key turning in the entrance door. Riven flew inside.

"Musa's back already," he hissed.

My eyes immediately widened in panic and bewilderment. "But, I thought all the contestants and judges were going to come back late tonight."

"Quickly get in the bed."

"But I just folded—"

"_Now_." Riven sounded urgent as he forcefully pushed me towards the bed.

I dove under the covers to cover my whole body, and enjoyed the warmth in the bed until a heavy weight fell on me. Riven literally sat on me, suffocating me underneath the blankets. I tried to speak, but my voice got muffle, so I tried wrestling even though he ordered silence, but the second I heard Musa's voice, I immediately froze.

"Flora! I have so much to tell you about," I heard Musa loudly cheered.

"I'm sure you do sweetie. You were lovely on stage."

"Thanks! I felt like I just came off from a rollercoaster."

"So, how are you and Jared?"

"Jared?" Musa groaned, rolling her eyes with annoyance. "Don't bring him up. I've already hear enough about him from all the interviews and speculation online. We aren't together. I just hope that Riven didn't misunderstand and knows that we aren't together."

"Alice?" he replied, blatantly ignoring the last bit.

"The girl who rejected Roy? You know…she was with the team that came in second in the final round. Blue hair. Blue eyes."

Explanation time has commenced! (Or you can skip all of this.)

The final round performances were completely different from the previous rounds because all the blocks were combined for the performances. The higher ups created four teams by grouping the remaining contenders. Musa's team was made up of Andy and The Stones, Musa & Jared, the Trix, and the dance group, Andros.

Despite the conflictions within the group, the team performed with the utmost perfection in perfect sync. Each competitor brought their own spice to the group. Musa & Jared brought the acting, the theme, while The Trix brought sensual pleasure; Andros brought their eccentric style and Andy Stoners dragged along their rabid fan group.

Together, despite all the strained tension shown in their team video and interactions after the performance, they worked together and showed us a spectacular performance lasting ten minute featuring the Bohemian Rhapsody with alternate lyrics. Their performance and the rabid applause that followed replayed in my mind.

_Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? __  
__Caught in a landslide, No escape from reality __  
__Open your eyes, Look up to the skies and see, __  
__I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy __  
__Because I'm easy come, easy go, Little high, little low __  
__Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me_

_Doctor, just met a girl, I once thought she's from above __  
__Then I tripped her, and fell in love __  
__Doctor, life had just begun __  
__But now I've gone and thrown it all away __  
__Doctor, ooh, Didn't mean to make you cry __  
__If I'm not back again this time tomorrow __  
__carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters_

Their performance put a smile on everyone's face including mine.

They claimed first prize.

No surprise. True professionals didn't keep relationships from providing a good performance for the crowd.

Explanation time has ended. (Done.)

Musa kept trying to trigger a nerve in Riven's memory, "You know..the girl who sang Rolling In The Deep during the first round."

"Oooh…Alice," Riven replied with fake enthusiasm which alerted that he still didn't know who Alice was.

"Oh, and guess who I met?"

"Who?"

"Guess."

"Ri—"

"I met Riven!" She wistfully sighed, sending herself off into a fanciful fantasy. "It felt so romantic. I have so much to tell you."

"I'm sure you do."

"By the way," Musa voice slowed down her words and her tone grew deeper, "what's in your bed?"

There was a long pause. "…Pillows?"

"You got new ones? Can I see them?"

"NO…well…" Riven's voice trailed off and I mental cringed at his loss of words. "They're a new brand…and well…they basically give your bed a scent, but you have to put them under the sheets and sit on them for ten minutes or else they won't work."

Riven could lie no other. I managed a crooked smile even though my cheek was pressed up against the bed.

"Oh! Like…perfume pillows?"

"Exactly! They're called Smellows," he replied before swiftly turning the conversation, "Anyways, why don't you go eat the stew I made."

"Sure. Let me go to the restroom really quickly first. "

Musa then promptly headed into the restroom. Riven immediately got up and dragged the sheets off me once Musa was out of sight.

"I almost died,"I gasped as I fanned my flushed face with my palms.

"Hurry and get out of here," he hissed.

"So…smellows huh?"

I felt my whole body go rigid.

Musa stood behind Riven, her eyes calculative and stern as she crossed her arms and drums her fingers against her skin. I shrieked and whipped around, pushing my head as deep inside my jacket as it would go and flipping my hood up.

"Human smellows? Did you get it from some kind of slave industry in the black market or something?"

_Oh no. She knows. I know that she knows. _

"No, silly." Riven cleared his throat. "Smellows are androids. I got it from a crazy scientist. By the way, weren't you going to wash up remember?" Riven reminded her, his voice at uncanny ease. I clutched my chest, feeling it warm up as the suspense played with my mind.

_Please don't come over. Please don't come over._

If Musa saw me then, everything would grow more complicated, and I couldn't let her know the truth, that the person she roomed with was actually a male inside, and that the male was Riven, her idol. No, no, no. Definitely not.

"I didn't because smellows sounded so fake. You don't have to hide a man from me Flora. I'm your friend."

"I'm not trying to hide."

"What's his name?"

There was another tense pause. "…Raven."

" Raven. So it_ is_ a guy," she slurred with a teasing voice.

I could hear Musa footsteps slowly growing nearer. I didn't breathe. Didn't move. Didn't speak. When her face came into her vision, and her expression literally jumped off her face.

"R-R-Riven?" Musa's cheeks immediately heated up until, they burned so hotly, I could feel the soft heat radiating from them.

"Nice to meet you…I'm Raven?"

Musa just shook her head and tried to pull the hood my jacket down, but I immediately halted her and kept the hood up. Nevertheless, she kept trying to pull it down with frustration as I struggled against her. Then she did an unprecedented move and pulled my zipper down.

"Shit. What do we do now?" I heard Riven lightly curse with a growl as Musa continued looking stunned.

"Flora?" Musa eye's were wide with confusion.

"…I guess I have no choice but to tell you the truth now."

My eyes almost popped out from their sockets. Tell her? Was Riven crazy? I bit back my head and shook my head back and forth like a mad man, but when Musa looked backwards, I immediately froze and gave the most innocent smile I could manage.

"The truth is…I met Riven a month ago by accident because my mom had connections. He just came over to drop something I left behind," Riven calmly replied, fooling anyone who didn't know the truth. Musa completely bought the lie.

I sighed with relief. "Sorry about that Musa. I just let anyone know I've been here," I tried to explain to her. Musa stared back at my with stunned eyes.

"No. It's fine. I understand." Her cheeks were still red, and her eyes seemed to glaze with a strong emotion.

Passion.

I could see the affection in Musa's eyes, and I felt my heart clench as guilt rushed over me like a waterfall. Had I unintentionally sent Musa the wrong message? Did she like me now?

Then I glanced over at Riven who looked like he was calculating the world's hardest puzzle with his hardened face, and bit back my lip. I hadn't answered his confession the night before, but the truth was that I liked him too from his blunt, unsociable behavior his barely noticeable, wry smile that would pass as a smirk.

"Do you have anything else planned for the rest of the day?" Musa asked me, twiddling her thumbs nervously.

"Not really."

Musa's eyes brightened. "Then why don't you stay? It's raining pretty heavily out there so why don't you stay over and eat while we watch a movie," Musa boldly proposed.

I quirked an eyebrow."A movie?"

"Yea! We have a big collection of movies. What do you want to watch?"

I paused, and then honestly replied, "…Cinderella."

I saw the instant expression of bewilderment falling on Musa's face. "Cinderella?"

"Pft! Cinderella," Riven chuckled, trying his best to stifle his laugh.

"Well, it's ok if you don't want to watch it," I quickly replied as I tried to save myself from embarrassment.

"No, it's ok." Musa turned to Flora, looking insulted. "Why are you laughing Flora? Cinderella is your favorite movie."

"It is? Of course it is. Well, not today. Today I feel like watching Jurassic Park."

"You can't stand horror movies."

"Well not today."

"But Riven wanted to watch—"

"I'm good with Jurassic Park," I quickly interrupted, hoping that Musa would just forget about what I said earlier. "Dinosaurs are…_cute_."

We watched the Jurassic Park from the beginning to the end while eating potato stew. I didn't have any spasms of fear till the first dinosaur appeared in that famous scene where all the character hesitantly glanced at the cup with the trembling water. That's when shut my eyes, and grabbed Riven Jr. to gently tell the kitten that everything would be all right in the end. However, the sound effects and the screams were enough to startle me.

Riven had forced me to open my eyes and let go of the kitten.

"If Riven doesn't want to watch it, then don't make him," Musa angrily snapped.

"He's a man. He should be able to take Jurassic Park, which hardly has any blood in it. Look! Even Riven Jr. is watching it!"

"Geez…when did you become so forcefully of Flora."

"It's the hormones."

Riven made me watch every second of the movie, especially when the grotesque Raptors and T-rex made an appearance. To survive the suspense, I kept reminding myself that a writer wouldn't kill of the main characters. I heaved a sigh of relief when, in the final scene, the gigantic bloodthirsty T-rex roared with all his might, and the credits started rolling.

"Now, that wasn't too bad," Riven deadpanned.

"How could humans be so cruel and experiment with life. We aren't gods." I shook my head with a frown, and heaved another sigh.

"You experiment with plants thought right?" Riven pointed out.

"I create plant hybrids," I corrected.

"Riven, you plant too?" Musa's eyes shined with curiosity. I had almost forgotten that she was there. "Wow! Flora does too. You both have so much in common."

"…Just a little." I weakly smiled at her. Musa didn't know how ironic her statement was, which made me feel even more guilty. _Sorry for lying to you sweetie. _"Anyways, experimenting to that extent of bringing back a life form that went extinct can't be good."

"And preserving life forms is any different?"

"Different. Species go into extinction because of us, humans. We destroy the environment and pollute the world, killing the species, so it our duty to take responsibility and fix this problem," I stubbornly defended, the frown on my face deepening.

"You know, I totally agree."

I victoriously grinned till I saw the expression on Riven's face. Riven had a smirk on his face, which made me wonder if he had fun asking me questions that he knew I would try to refute.

"Wow, you both are also passionate towards preserving the environment too!" Musa had an infectious grin on her face, making me grin too. Watching a movie with my best friend that I hadn't been able to hang out with for weeks brought a sense of belonging to me.

The movie choice wasn't the best, but it wasn't that worst either. Like Riven said, it wasn't _that bad_, as long as I shut my eyes and cuddle with Riven Jr. I felt a sense of pride. Surely I would eventually get used to watching horror movies if I watched them more often.

"The Notebook!" Musa decided with youthful enthusiasm. We didn't give Riven the chance to argue. Sometime during the movie, Musa had dozed off on the couch. I guessed that she was exhausted from the trip.

After watching The Notebook, Riven and I launched ourselves into another debate, this time it was about believing in fairytales and romantic storylines.

"…creates some unrealistic fanciful, imaginary world which leaves drooling women feeling cheated when they experience the hard truth."

I gaped at the outright insult he had just delivered. "Are you saying romance movies, novel, and everything else, is fake?"

"It matters how society depicts it, and so far, they done a horrible job by making it into a whore. Women basically watch stuff like Titanic and read romantic novels to fulfill their emotional needs. I dub this severely twisted deformed entity called romance 'emotional porn'."

This impact left me raw and enlightened. I had never seen it that way, and Riven logical approach was forcing me to think, slowly convincing me otherwise.

"Do you not believe in love?"

"...I used to not believe."

_Used to? _

I let his reply settle in my mind for a moment, wondering what he could have meant. My eyes trailed up his figure, and met his piercing gaze, setting of sparks of bashfulness.

"H-How about love songs written from the heart? Are you going to say those aren't realistic either when artists honestly pour out their feelings into their lyrics?" I challenged with my eyes strayed.

"Not necessarily. Some portrayals of love are honest. Others are just crappy and there to suck money from emotionally hungry females. There are more love songs than anything else. If songs could make you do something we'd all love one another (1). "

"Musa would cry if you heard you say those words from your own lips," I pointed out.

"I'm just stating my views."

My cheeks heated up as I saw a smirk tug at the corners of Riven's lips. Suddenly a smile tugged as my lips. At that moment, Riven seemed brilliantly out of my league with the way he support his words with undeterred charisma.

"That's why I was attracted." The words involuntarily slipped out against my will. My cheeks instantly heated up.

_No. No. No._

Riven's brows slightly rose. "What did you say?"

I felt a long wave of relief wash over me and rejoiced. I didn't want Riven to find out about my feelings while I was stuck in such a disadvantageous situation with multiple rivals.

My body stiffened.

_Rivals._

My glance flew and lingered on Musa's sleeping figure. A pang of guilt along with a slew of various other emotions slammed into me like a red walled bricks.

Musa liked me as Riven, and even if I returned to my body, that affection wouldn't disappear. Now that I knew that, what was I going to do?

_What kind of mess had I gotten myself into?_

* * *

_Busy. I've been...busy. And who knew that a hundred days was a long time to take account for. Apparently I didn't._

_(1) Last two sentences is a quote from the amazing, eccentric musician, Frank Zappa._

_Renachi_


	22. The Night Before Eve

_Disclaimer: The regular stuff goes here._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO – THE NIGHT BEFORE EVE**

I slumped lazily slumped in a plush chair as Flora practiced piano for the millionth time that night. Flora had perfected every single piece, yet she still insisted on last minute practice when all the other guys escaped to play in the jolly Christmas atmosphere.

"Sorry. I'm the type who over practices," she said when I complained.

"So true."

I couldn't deny that her determination and want to work hard struck a heart string somewhere inside.

In the end, I opted to stay with Flora while the others pranced around in the city with blinking reindeer antlers. I didn't mind. Taking pictures with a fat Santa Claus gave me nightmares anyways.

_It's tomorrow_

Tomorrow night was the big day, the last day I would spend in Flora's body and the day of the Christmas Eve Concert.

Ninety-nine days ago, I had envisioned fireworks and loud streamers of celebration erupting—theoretically speaking of course—when the last day of our awkward stage of you-are-me arrived. But now that the day was around the corner, I felt the urge to rewind time. A strange sense of disappointment and dissatisfaction hounded my constantly every since I laid my eyes upon that calendar that Flora had pinned up in the living room, a far cry from the expected heart stopping fireworks.

Only ten days were left when I had laid my eyes on that calendar, and since then, my mind had been at a constant unease. And much to my annoyance, I didn't have the vaguest idea why I felt the way I felt. Perhaps I didn't want to want these treasured times with Flora to end.

I grunted while thinking, '_Now I'm starting to sound like a girl.'_

I couldn't prevent the walk down memory lane every time I tried to fall into deep slumber at night, so my consciousness ended up lingering at the edge of my mind till my memory reel retired. This time I reminisced about the day we spent together during Thanksgiving, from the dragging parts in the morning such as our visit to my…_mother_…to our Thanksgiving dinner.

I initially firmly opposed Flora going to visit her, but it was no use. Flora was surprisingly stubborn and stood up to me with her own meek bravery. We eventually came to a compromise: she could go visit whoever she wanted to, but I would follow and make sure that no more misunderstanding sprung up. Flora seemed more than satisfied, humming a Bob Marley tune when I picked her up in the morning.

The meeting with mother had gone smoothly, ending with a fresh farewell between me and her; the close friend of a mother's beloved son and the mother. She had no inkling that I was her beloved son, and I was determined to never let her find out.

_Never._

During a moment when Flora went to the restroom, she said, "Flora…was it?"

"Yes." I crinkled my eyes, wondering if she was trying to make conversation even though. Throughout the whole afternoon, I had tried my best to pass as a shy, troubled girl, and so far, I had been successful.

"So, how are you?"

"…Fine?"

At my response, she languidly sighed, dragging her eyes up and casting a distant look at the window to glance out at the cloudy weather. Then her eyes flowed back to me, and for the first time in a long time, we locked in an intense glare, tugging at heart.

"You're looking down on me aren't you?" Her voice grew weaker into a choked tone, hiding strange insecurities within it. "Because I'm such a failure of a mother…Because I made mistakes that I can never correct. Promise me that you will never ever make the same mistake as I did as a mother. Please shower your kid with love. Don't taint your child's memory with grief like I did."

Anger swelled inside of me.

I felt cheated.

Where did the person that I hated for years and year go?

I had no idea what to say as my mom showed me an unseen side of her personality. I hadn't known that she had regretted her past actions to the extent that she carried a invisible dark cloud over her. I hadn't known her thoughts, her feelings, and everything about her at all.

"Thank you, but follow your own advice."

"It's too late for me."

"Maybe not."

I don't know what came over me during the exchange of terse words. At that moment, I almost came to a temporary compromise with my hatred, thinking, _'Could I have been in the wrong?'_

I so I actually backtracked and second thought my attitude.

And it was Flora's fault.

Once again, she changed another important corner of the scenery around me, my mom.

Ever since she had entered my life, the scenery around me morphed in unexpected ways. My crude life changed. Flora brought in positivity, possibilities, and flower-like tenderness. I discovered many things along with hope, precious hope.

Later on, we took a jolly drive over to Flora's family, after I transformed Flora, the Amazing Rockstar Riven to a flower-loving man resembling Helia with bleached hair. I chuckled when Flora complained about the platinum blonde wig that, according to her, must have weighed more than a ton because the wig extended all the way down to her knees.

Her family didn't suspect a thing, but then again if they had, I would have awarded them some trophy—the SUPERHUMAN X-RAY VISION one. Flora had padded on so much makeup, which had not been tested on animals, that it was absolutely impossible to recognize her other than the contours on her face. I was impressed with my handiwork.

Good job Riven.

I had to pity Miele who hoped that Riven was _the _Riven_._ Her face flooded with disappointment the moment she saw Flora and as I introduced "Raven" my supposed "boyfriend".

Deceiving others had grown into a easy task. I wiped up lies with a straight face, but I couldn't say the same about Flora. Flora, like before, still stuttered and deviated her eyes when she lied. She was too honest. Oh well. That was one of her strong points.

During the dinner, Grandma pulled Flora aside for a one-on-one talk in the living. God knows what they discussed, but when Flora came back, her cheeks were sizzling like a stove; I could have cooked an egg on her ruby cheeks. She said, "Well, she praised me...and asked me about my future plans…and she showed be some…uh…pictures I never knew she had."

"Pictures?"

She blushed, her checks turning into a hotter redder, if that was even possible. "Well...uh…nevermind."

So I left it at that.

Flora managed to stay composed and gracefully carried herself, yet I could sense the hint of nervousness in her voice as she carefully answered each question my family attacked her with. Most of the questions came from her father who glowered with unreasonable bitterness like a child in the time-out corner.

Somehow I caught her infectious smile and started grinning here and there. I even went out of my way and tried to be nice to Oh So Dear Grandma by offering her some strawberry shortcake. I failed, and Grandma chastised me for forgetting that she had diabetes.

After we drove back to Flora's home, we parked outside for a few minutes, enjoying the serene nightlife with loudly chirping crickets. Then I remembered something important.

"Who's Antonia?"

Flora brows rose. "My biological mom. My current mom is actually my aunt. My real mom died in a car crash when I was little and I had no father because my mom got pregnant from a sperm bank."

"Do you miss her, your mom?"

"I do, but all of that is in the past. I've moved on because I didn't want to stay sad stay sad. As long as you don't give up and keep smiling, good things are bound to come, right? You know, it's like that saying. When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile." She beamed with a smile that seemed to glow in the moonlight filtering through the car window. "Wouldn't it be great if everyone lived by that motto?"

My eyes gazed downwards . I had always assumed that Flora perfectly fit the part of a little girl growing up in a healthy family full of love and support, but it seems like that wasn't the case. It was so unbelievable that I remained skeptical.

When I took a peek at Flora, she gazed back at me with eyes shining with vitality, and then I realized the amazing strength that preserved she housed in that seemingly fragile soul of hers that attracted me. She was weak on the outside with her fragile shyness, but in reality, she was strong, genuine, and unimaginably kind.

Compared to me, I was a mess. Able to plunge myself into reckless sports, I seemed strong, but when faced with critical situations, the only thing I could do with hate—hate the person who hurt me, hate the world, and hate myself for being weak.

I yearned for the strength in Flora. I yearned to face my past, and move on, and maybe with this delicate woman, I could.

"It feels weird when you don't answer," she quietly whispered in a relaxed voice.

"I didn't know what to say," I explained. "My impression of you has changed."

"Really? How?"

"Now I know that you're screwed up." I had meant to say a compliment, but when I heard them flow out, I cringed at my word choice. However, turning to face me, Flora treated it as a compliment with a warming smile gracing her face.

"Thank you very much," she replied before turning back to gaze at the glittering sky. "I'm not the only one though. There are people out there with harder lives like Musa who lost her mother to cancer. There are a lot of people out there with sad experiences and stories to tell. Divorce, bullying, death, suicide, abuse, pressure, expectations, guilt, and failure. Everyone experience formidable obstacles." A pensive smile fell on her face. "Don't you think that we often judge people without even knowing them? I guess when someone doesn't like someone else, sometimes it is because they don't know them very well."

Flora must of notice my crestfallen face because she patted me on the back, saying, "Actually, you're a prime example, Mr. Misunderstood."

I rolled my eyes with mock annoyance, but a contradicting grin made its way on my face.

Personal moments like those broke through my barriers, leaving my sensitive emotions raw and venerable, but I trusted Flora. I trusted this person who opened windows in my life so that the light of dawn would filter through.

My vision suddenly sharpened. I returned my memory lane to a present reality where Flora had lulled herself to sleep while practicing slowest piece of all the thirty. I smirked.

Too curious for my own good, I crept over to her side to take a better look. Her forehead rested on the piano music and her body leaned against the piano like a plank. I studied her closed eyes and noticed the drool on the corner of her mouth. How attractive.

She heightened my curiosity, making me feel like a scientist observing the behavior of a stirring lion. It was strange how she seemed mysteriously attractive while she slept using _my_ appearance. I couldn't help but feel that she was being unfair; she drew me so easily while keeping herself out of my reach like an apple too far up to grab.

"You're being unfair."

Wondering what noise she would make, I curiously reach out a tentative finger to pinch her nose. A spew of air shot out from her lips. I smirked. I grew so immersed in the activity that I hadn't realized that Flora's eyes had fluttered opened at some point.

She let out a shallow yawn and rubbed her half-open eyes. "Riven?"

I immediately withdrew my hair and tried to hide my shaken up mind. Then I cleared my throat, trying to wipe away my dazed appearance. Hopefully she hadn't noticed..

"I was trying to tell you that I have to leave now."

"I see." Flora let out another yawn before waving with a lopsided grin. "Well then, see you tomorrow at the concert."

As I drove back to the apartment, I kept glancing at the cock every second, waiting for the digital clock to reach midnight. When I finally did, my heart rose up and filled with trepidation.

The last day of our peaceful lifestyle had arrived, and I was more anxious than ever.

* * *

_I apologize for the delay. My life has been occupied with my old love for the past few days...anime...it's my drug of choice. Or is it an anti-drug?_

_Renachi _


	23. Finale

_Disclaimer: Straffi was cool enough to let me borrow his characters._

**100 Days As You**

**By: _Renachi_**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE – FINALE**

My heart jack-hammered like crazy as beads of sweat stuck to the back of my neck. I trembled at the fact that I was about to perform in front of thousands of people in just a few minutes. I wish all the other guys in the band were as nervous as I was. If they were then I could have eased my own anxiety by comforting them. But sadly, all those veterans had long grown numb to stage fear.

"It'd be fine. It'd be fine." I kept repeating the phrase to myself repeatedly, but stage fright couldn't be defeated or even deterred. The chaotic cheers made by the rabid fans and the music played by the opening band streamed past the backstage walls, making my heart race faster and faster as I sat in a chair to calm down.

_Calm down Flora. Calm. Down._

Finally my mind relaxed into pure serenity.

"DAMN." My heart jumped. "There is a buttload of people out there."

My chest relaxed when I spotted Riven approached with a bit of a stagger, clad in heavy gothic pants and tops that hid all of his sloping curves.

"Oh…thank goodness. It's just you," I sighed.

Riven didn't help quell the unbearable anxiety in my heart one bit. If anything, he made it worse, or at least he tried to with his not-so-subtle teasing.

"There must be tens of thousands of suckers out there to scrutinize your every movement."

I let out a heavy sighed drummed my fingers against my knee, trying to remember my fingering on the opening song by humming the melody. Riven tugged on the chain choker, which refused to budge from its content spot.

"What is with these stupid chains?" he grumbled with a scowl as he tried to loosen the scarlet red chains that tightly spiraled around his slender arms.

I shrugged. "The theme is a Black Xmas, but I don't know where the chains came from."

"I bet stupid Sky came up with this stupid idea," he muttered in frustration, finally surrendering to the chains with bitterness. "I miss those stupid days where we performed in stupid t-shirts and jeans."

"I guess."

I glanced down simple costume, a frayed maroon vest, black leather pants, which was also wrapped with verdant chains, and dark boots. For the final touch, the makeup artist had splayed silver glitter my dyed hair, face, and outfit. Every detail mattered to the makeup artist as she carefully studied my appearance.

"I feel gross with all this stuff on me," Riven smartly commented.

"Well, they had to hide the fact that you aren't male."

In comparison to my outfit, Riven's was much more intricate. With thousands of eyes on Riven, the makeup artist and designer had to put extra effort into transforming a "she" to a "he". They placed a silver wig, spiking it up into edgy hairstyle, and placed multiple layers of black makeup to hide his tan skin tone. After adding the final touches and red contacts, Riven looked like the spawn of the dark elf king. All he needed were pointy ears.

"I don't even look human anymore. "

"You know how a character has two consciousness in characters and how the angel and demon would show up when the character is making a hard decision? Well, right now you kind of look like the demon."

"Not the angel?" Riven scoffed with dissatisfaction before a lips raised into an amused smile. "How ironic. When I was young, I never got the part of Gabriel at those Nativity Pageants even though I wanted it. They wouldn't even let me be an angel.

"Then what was your role?"

"Herod."

I tried to hold back my chuckles, but they still came out, but Riven surprisingly had a smile—or a smirk—plastered across his face as I laughed. "Well, you certainly could fit the role of Lucifer."

"And let me guess. You were Mary?"

"No—I was a wise man."

"You were a…man? The irony."

I couldn't help but giggle the ridiculous expression of disbelief on his face. One crooked brow had jutted up while my lips twisted into a smirk and pout, as if it couldn't decide on which emotion to exhibit. I brimmed with victory that I had managed to share the Christmas spirit of laughter.

"I kind of a tomboy when I was young," I explained.

" So you used to wear your hair short with overalls?"

"Pretty much."

"Well, someone has changed a whole lot."

I frowned, but I couldn't hide my playful mirth.

My expression paused when I realized that Riven had, once again, cleared away all the anxiety in my heart without comforting me by saying, "Everything will be all right" like most people. He managed to removed all my distresses in his own way. When Riven talked to me, he did wonders on my mind. He could easily make my face my fears and turn me into a more stronger Flora.

Truthfully, Riven had given me so much, and in return I had given him nothing but troubles. I wanted to return the favor but had no idea how to so I gave in and allowed my small list of debts to Riven kept growing taller and taller into a formidable tower. A sigh escaped from my lips.

"What's wrong?" he asked, a bit of worry in his tone.

"Nothing. I just—"

"Nervous?"

The thought of performing in front of thousands still froze every limb, rooting my feet to the ground and flushing out of the blood from my face. I gave a wry smile and warmed up my clammy hands by rubbing them against each other, but friction proved useless.

"Y-Yea. A-A bit."

Riven coolly snorted and then held out his palm to much of my confusion.

"What?"

I could hear a muffled grunt as he crudely grunted and swiftly snatched one of my hands, squeezing it tightly.

"You're cold right?"

A hot blush crept up. I felt my face warm up at the touch of Riven's slender hand wrapped around mine in a masculine, protective grip. My heart pounded wildly, threatening to break out of its cage as I stood there, unable to even steal a coy glance at Riven.

"The concert starts in a few minutes!" a voice loudly announced. I immediately felt Riven's hand stiffen.

Soon after, I saw Timmy hurriedly ran towards us, the chains on his body clanging as he ran. He had removed his glasses and donned blood red contacts, which shocked me, thinking that Timmy was ethereal for a moment. My mind panicked, as we let go of our grip and wore embarrassed expression, but Timmy didn't have the slightest idea.

"I've been looking for you two. Follow me!"

He hastily led us towards the opening to the stage where the rest of the band crew idly stood. I saw a flicker of nervousness in the atmosphere and quickly blew out when we arrived and was replaced with a burning flame of confidence. Perhaps our absence was the cause of that nervousness?

"Good. Well, I think the whole crew has assembled," Brandon commented with a firm nod. "Well guys…and girl…lets perform to our best out there and have fun. Merry Christmas you guys."

We all show our enthusiasm with our happy voices. Riven just shrugged, looking more and more like a stoic elf after every passing second.

A guy I immediately recognized him as Jason approached us. I suddenly didn't know how to act. Should I greet him with a friendly grin or act cool? Either way, it didn't matter because the moment he came, and started pouring out information, not wasting a single second.

"You guys have ten seconds. Go through those doors and start playing like we rehearsed in five…four…three…two…one."

I heard the audience's cheers amplify when the doors swung open and all of us rushed out into the dark stage towards our instruments. No one gave me a second for reality to sink and swim in the sea of cheers, because the moment I got to my keyboard and got settled in, Riven's voice started yelling above all the cheers, counting down the numbers and beating his sticks together to give us a beat.

Then crowds screamed as if their life depended on it and music came to life. My fingers effortlessly slid across the keyboard. All those hours of practice finally paid off, and my fingers mindlessly flowed from note to note as if my mind had shut down.

Our music vibrated the chilly winter night and the strobe of lights slowly came to life, carefully timed to let our eyes adjust to change in brightness.

My fears were washed away when I realized the truth. I didn't have to be nervous. After all, I wasn't alone. Four other reliable people stood with me on that intimidating stage, eager to back me up if anything went wrong. That sole thought soothed me.

I forgot all my worries, and pour myself out. All that exist was the stage. Nothing less. Nothing more.

As I relished in the music, Helia's smooth voice started pouring from the speakers, and the high-pitched scream amplified into a wild roar.

_I never knew__  
__I never knew that everything was falling through__  
__That everyone I knew was waiting on a cue__  
__To turn and run when all I needed was the truth__  
__But that's how it's got to be__  
__It's coming down to nothing more than apathy__  
__I'd rather run the other way than stay and see__  
__The smoke and who's still standing when it clears_

_Everyone knows I'm in__  
__Over my head, over my head__  
__With eight seconds left in overtime__  
__She's on your mind, she's on your mind_

_Let's rearrange__  
__I wish you were a stranger I could disengage__  
__Say that we agree and then never change__  
__Soften a bit until we all just get along__  
__But that's disregard__  
__Find another friend and you discard__  
__As you lose the argument in a cable car__  
__Hanging above as the canyon comes between_

_Everyone knows I'm in__  
__Over my head, over my head__  
__With eight seconds left in overtime__  
__She's on your mind, she's on your mind_

_Everyone knows I'm in__  
__Over my head, over my head__  
__With eight seconds left in overtime__  
__She's on your mind, she's on your mind__  
__She's on your mind_

_Suddenly I become a part of your past__  
__I'm becoming the part that don't last__  
__I'm losing you and it's effortless_

_Without a sound we lose sight of the ground__  
__In the throw around__  
__Never thought that you wanted to bring it down__  
__I won't let it go down till we torch it ourselves_

_Everyone knows I'm in__  
__Over my head, over my head__  
__With eight seconds left in overtime__  
__She's on your mind, she's on your mind__  
__She's on your mind_

_Everyone knows I'm in__  
__Over my head, over my head__  
__With eight seconds left in overtime__  
__She's on your mind, she's on your mind_

_Everyone knows I'm in__  
__Over my head, over my head__  
__With eight seconds left in overtime__  
__She's on your mind, she's on your mind_

Song after song flew past me down the stream of time, never to return. Later on, when I looked back at the night I didn't remember the songs I played or what Helia yelled out to the ecstatic crowd when they demanded for an encore even though the concert hadn't ended. In my memory, that night was like a whirlpool that sucked me into to its violent currents, messing with my sense of time and mind, before it spit me out leaving me with the memory of the pure exhilaration you get from adrenaline charged activities such as rollercoasters and bungee jumping.

How many hours had past? Two? Three? Four? I had no idea. Before I had the time to slowly study the whole scene and ingrain it in my mind, the end had arrived. My fingers started to play the nostalgic notes, the first songs I had played out of the thirty.

_There's a woman crying out tonight__  
__Her world has changed__  
__She asks God why__  
__Her only son has died__  
__And now her daughter cries__  
__She can't sleep at night_

_Downtown another day for all the suits and ties__  
__Another war to fight__  
__There's no regard for life__  
__How do they sleep at night__  
__How can we make things right__  
__Just wanna make this right_

_We believe, we believe, we believe, we believe, we believe, we believe__  
__In this love_

_We are all the same__  
__Human in all our ways and all our pains__  
__(So let it be)__  
__There's a love that could fall down like rain__  
__(Let us see)__  
__Let forgiveness wash away the pain__  
__(What we need)__  
__And no one really knows what they are searching for__  
__(We believe)__  
__This world is crying for so much more_

_We believe, we believe, we believe, we believe, we believe, we believe__  
__In this love_

_We believe, we believe, we believe, we believe, we believe__  
__In this love_

_So this world is too much for you to take__  
__Just lay it down and follow me__  
__I'll be everything you need__  
__In everyway_

_We believe, we believe, we believe, we believe, we believe, we believe__  
__In this love_

_In this love__  
__We believe__  
__In this love__  
__We believe__  
__In this love__  
__We believe__  
__In this love_

When we finished, the lights switched off. The crowds were still in an uproar, while I secretly switched over to the grand piano sitting that the staff members had hurriedly positioned on the stage while the lights were off.

"It's not over yet. We have a few more pieces to share with you all," Helia whispered into the mic with his miraculous voice that survived through a song marathon.

The gentle notes rolled into the audience as we played the Carol of the Rock, a beautiful piece that was purely instrumental. When that masterpiece finished, the audience kept asking for more, and we rewarded their crave with more music and celebration.

Finally the last song of the night arrived.

"It's already near midnight. To end this night, we have one last song to give you guys. Hope you enjoy it."

We ended the night with the slow traditional O Holy Night. As we played, we could feel a calming atmosphere settling upon us, washing away all the adrenaline.

_O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining__  
__It is the night of our dear Savior's birth__  
__Long lay the world in sin and error pining__  
__Til He appeared and the soul felt it's worth__  
__A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices__  
__For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn_

_Fall on your knees__  
__O hear the angel voices__  
__O night divine!__  
__O night when Christ was born_

_A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices__  
__For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn_

_Fall on your knees__  
__O hear the angel voices__  
__O night divine!__  
__O night when Christ was born__  
__O night divine! _

_O night divine!_

_Fall on your knees__  
__O hear the holy angels__  
__O night divine!__  
__O night when Christ was born_

_O night divine!__  
__O night divine_

I heaved a gargantuan breath, reveling in the precious moment before letting it out to gaze that the swaying sea of listeners, closing the ears and sharing the timeless atmosphere with me. Happily grinning with relief, I suddenly felt an overwhelming amount of exhaustion that I hadn't noticed before.

First a heartbeat. Then a pang of shock rang through my body. I wasn't allowed to have a chance to wonder what was happening as life fell from me.

Suddenly, I felt my breath being sucked out from me. My eyes skywards as I gasped for life and tried to retain the morsel of strength left in my body. Regardless of my effort, slowly, my consciousness faded away along with my treasured emotions, thoughts, and senses, bit by bit, until all that was left was darkness.

* * *

_Here are the names of all the songs in this chapter from first to last. _

_1) Over My Head - The Fray_

_2) We Believe - Good Charlotte_

_3) O Holy Night - Woodmen Hall (best rock version)_

_Hopefully you all know what the Nativity is out there. Now let's not get into the discussion on what denomination the characters are because we all know that the Winx Club universe was created by the almighty Great Dragon. Finding lyrics can be more tiring than writing. __Time for me to sign out_

_Renachi_


	24. The Awakening

_Disclaimer: Copy & paste from last chapter._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR – THE AWAKENING**

The doctor adjusted his white lab coat, and finally gave me a nod. "There's nothing wrong with you. I honestly don't know why you sudden passed out."

"Good. Now, for the _millionth _time_, _can_—_ no—_may_ I go now?" I repeated for the gazillionth time, purposely emphasizing the "_may"_. After the doctor smartly reminded me that "can" was the wrong word because I technically could go, but I wasn't allowed to. Old people were so patronizing.

"Yes. You _may._"

I cried my hallelujahs.

On a normal occasion, I would have been delighted talk about the doctor about my symbiosis, but at the moment, all I could think about was escaping to check on Flora.

Hours ago, I had awaken in a daze to I find myself comfortably laying on a hospital bed. After trying to politely ask a petite nurse on what had happened, she donned a "OH GOD! IT'S RIVEN" look.

_Definitely a fan._

"H-H-H-HAPPY…Christmas Riven. I mean Merry Christmas!"

"What time is it?"

"Chr-Christmas afternoon. You've been asleep for a d-d-d-d-day. L-Last night, you and that new drummer fainted on stage during the performance and were sent here. Right now the m-media is making a huge deal when you both collapsed at the exact same second. It's on Youtube if you want to watch."

"I'll pass."

"Oh, and we were told by your boss to keep the whole gender issue as a secret. The media sure can be scary, huh?"

Boss…So Sky, the debonair prince, came flying to the rescue once again. Then my mind froze at the second piece of information. Gender issue?

I glanced at my hands, and my eyes widened with shock as I realized that I was back in my own body, finally. After being away from it for one hundred day, my body felt awkward, maybe even foreign as if I were in a different world now. I spent months missing my deep voice, my original, rock hard fists, and height, but now that I had it all back, I didn't know what to feel.

Ever since then, I had been yearning to see Flora to confirm my worries, but the nurses and doctors held me back, saying I needed to perform one final checkup to which I replied to with a firm "damn" and only a firm "damn". Before, I would have let out a string of curses. Living as Flora had toned down my language.

When the checkup finally ended, I dashed to the information to get the room number Flora stayed in before dashing back up the stairs. At that moment, I had no patience to use the elevator and watch the torturing dings as the door opened to allow more passengers on.

The first thing that shocked me when I arrived at Flora's room was that amount of family and friends crowding around Flora. Everyone had arrived to check on Flora: Musa, Layla, Grandma, Mother, and Father. Every last one of them had fallen asleep in chairs, leaving me as the only standing person in the room. It felt odd to see Flora back in her own body, the body I would see when I looked into a mirror for the past one hundred days.

Carefully picking my feet across the room, I glanced at Flora's peacefully sleeping body, watching as her chest rose and fell like a wave with every gentle breath. All of my past worries and anxiety washed away, now replace with only one question. Why hadn't she awaken yet?

_She looks so vulnerable…_

Even though her spirit was unbreakable, her body portrayed her as a fragile being. Her tantalizing lips suddenly caught my attention, drawing me to kiss them. I wanted to kiss her, badly, but this wasn't the right time. Even knowing that, I couldn't resist; I should have known that resisting Flora would be futile.

Carefully with adrenaline coursing through my veins, I took the bait and stole her lips. My heart flared alive, running faster and faster that I thought I might be having a heart attack, but I didn't release. I rested my content lips on hers, feeling time gradually slipping away. Eventually, I released, and took one last look at Flora.

A giggle sounded, so I shot around, scanning the room for the origin of the giggle, however, I found no one to my chagrin. Had it been my imagination? The restroom door opened, revealing a sluggish Miele. My eyes were fixated on her as she crawled back to her seat and laid down, my heart not relenting its fast pace while my mind just asking the same question over and over again like a mantra.

…

_Did she see?_

I let out a sigh of relief when she had gone back to sleep, or I least thought she had before her eyes shot back open. "Riven?"

Her voice was a bit too loud for my liking, but thankfully no one woke up.

"Shh…I need to ask a question. What's wrong with this girl?" I tried to discreetly whisper from across the bed, making sure to not expose Flora's cover, or rather my old cover, of being the Specialist's temporary drummer.

"You mean my sister?"

"Yes," I growled impatiently.

"She fell down two flights of stairs and hit her head."

_So that's the cover up Sky used._

"I see. Thanks for the information, Miele."

I quickly left the room after saying goodbye to Flora through telepathy, leaving Miele to wonder her head off on how I knew her name.

ººº

I was on a mission to find _The Witch_.

_Mission Witch Hunter _

I finally noticed that something had went wrong when Flora hadn't opened her eyes after a while. Day after day passed by as I daily went to go check up on Flora only to be told that there was no improvement in her condition. After five days of slumber, I finally decided to visit the only person who had answers to my questions – Griffin.

I could never forget her shop's appearance with its bright sign and dreary interior. It was the corner shop started this whole outlandish odyssey that I still had a hard time to digest.

As I walked on the pavement, wet with rain, my eyes intently searched for that familiar hot pink sign with the word GRAHAM. My brows rose at my surprise when I found it. A novel sign stared back at me as fancy dark indigo letters that complemented the day's gloomy, overcast weather.

"Cloud Tower…So she finally changed the sign."

I rolled my eyes before I ducked into the shop just when it started pouring again. The same nostalgic, suffocating scent of strong spices rolls into me when I entered. My blew through my nose, and gave my head a resounding thump before searching the story for the witch. However, she was nowhere to be found. I tried to lure her out to no avail.

"Griffin! I discovered a good hex and I want to share it with you!" Silence.

"I have a favor. Can you hex someone for me? She's old, wrinkly, and looks just like you." Silence.

"I found your pet cockroach." A peep from a mouse scurrying across the floor then…silence.

When I managed to break into her locked office by kicking the door down, I softly cursed. Griffin wasn't there either. I searched the room once more, glancing at her collection of herbs and disturbing humming and croaking ingredients. Needless to say, just looking at her workspace freaked me out. I checked the cauldron, and, of course, she wasn't hiding in it like I hoped she would, but I did however notice something strange after I lifted my head out the gigantic pot.

There was a long, straight indent in the wall. I traced that indent and lightly rapped on it, only to discover it was hollow. The indent was the border to an opening in the wall. All I had to do to gain passage was break it.

I back up a few feet and then ran at the piece of wall using all the momentum I could gather. The wall flew out and landed on the ground before me. As I walked through the opening into the drizzle the sky crackled with like and thundered ominously. Red brick and little light surrounded me. I was the entrance to an alley. I glanced to the left and right, studying my surrounding and trying to find something that the witch could have possibly hid in if she hadn't already ran away.

I tried to formulate the evil route Griffin would take under dire circumstances. I shouldn't have been that hard since I was pretty evil myself. In fact, I had called the epitome of evil by a girl I rejected a few years ago, but Flora must have unknowingly led me into the "good" section of the alignment spectrum.

There were three possible routes: the openings out of the alley on left and right, and the staircase leading up to the second story of the building across from me; there was a one out of three chance that she took one of those routes. Then there was the possibility that she didn't even escape through the passageway and was never in the room in the first place.

"Shit!"

I realized even if she had exited out of one of those routes, Griffin would have been long gone by then. I had officially been screwed with. Cursing with defeat, I pounded on the wall across from me, swearing like there had been no tomorrow. I needed to find Griffin to get information about the antidote and its effects. I had questions for that woman.

After a few more second of trashing the alley wall, I opted to head up the stairs. The sight of violet hair piled up into a high hair do caught my attention as it rounded the corner. Desperation seeped into my veins and translated to adrenaline as I rushed after my pleasant surprise, right when I rounded the corner, a familiar face appeared farther down the hall.

"Helia! Stop her!" I shouted.

A look of bewilderment registered on his face, but nevertheless, he obeyed and managed to instinctively trap Griffin, who failed to dodge him, in a firm headlock without much trouble. I approached the troublesome witch, trying to keep the maliciousness at bay.

"Just the person I was looking for," I growled in a gruff voice as I approached Griffin, rudely pushing my face into hers.

"Riven, I presume?" she greeted with a subtle sneer in her tone and managed to maintain her dignity while being entrapped in Helia's arms. Her golden eyes stared out from her pale visage, sending a fearful chill down my spine. "Pleasure to meet you again."

I cut to the chase. "What did you do to Flora?" I sternly questioned.

"What are you talking about?" she replied with false innocence, her smile dangerously gleaming.

"You know her?" Helia looked pitifully perplexed and dumbfounded.

"Helia, this is the witch who caused the whole body switching business— Griffin."

Helia glanced at the deceitful witch with shock, probably not able to escape from denial. I could empathize with him. I wouldn't have believed the fact if I hadn't switched bodies with Flora.

Griffin didn't bother to take a look at Helia, probably recognizing his face from the media. "You can release me now boy," she demanded, her tone stone cold. "I'm not going to run away since there is no point now."

I stared the witch down and tried to gather hints on what conniving thoughts might have been swarming her mind, but Griffin wore of dignified mask well. I couldn't find or imagine any underlying motive.

"Helia, you can release her."

Helia seemed hesistant at first, but after an nod of allowance from me, and withdrew his arms from Griffin.

"Good. Just to let you know, you have just prevented me from hexing you clean off this world," she informed Helia in monotone, letting out a dramatic sigh. "Now, what is your question?"

"Well, first of all, why did you run away?"

"Because you looked like you were out to kill me."

"Kill you?" I scoffed. "I'm not crazy."

"You're right. You're insane," she hissed, lowered her eyes and zoned in, pushing her face into mine before she whispered, "Or maybe lovesick?"

I scowled before, and mentally chided myself while an amused smirk grew on the witch's face.

"You know, you should actually thank me instead of looking like you want to murder me. I was the one who introduced her to you anyways." Was she saying that she did a good deed?

No comment.

Suddenly I had a keen fascination with the current weather. "Helia, don't you think the sky has been grayer than usual?"

"Uh…well—"

"Don't just ignore me," she snapped angrily with a huff. "Tell me, your main question is on Flora." She snickered when she saw the spark in my eyes at her name. "It's not like I don't know that it is something concerning that sweet girl."

"What the heck?" Helia cursed under his breath. I ignored his comment and kept my focus on the witch, determined to tackle her if she tried escaping again.

"What did you do to her?" I accused.

"So impudent."

I scowled. "Stop playing around and get to the point."

Griffin let out a sigh used when dealing with kids, and somehow that annoyed me like hell. "Back when you two drank that antidote, I slipped in something extra. Now, now, she's not going to die as long as you follow my instructions."

"Huh?" My eyes widened frantically as my pulse quicken. This woman was kidding right? "You're kidding right?"

"Anyways," she continued, "I can make a potion to counterattack that that little _mistake_. It'll return Flora back to normal."

"Wait. What do you mean by die," I earnestly persisted.

"It doesn't matter does it?" the witch snapped. "As long as you follow my directions, everything should be fine. You may not trust me, but I won't let her die. Let me tell you that having those police dogs on your tail isn't a pleasant experience."

My brows furrowed as I jabbed an index at her accusingly. "What did you do and why?"

She easily slapped the finger away with grace mirroring a queen. "Because it was interesting of course."

Seriously? "That's…it?"

"Interesting people in interesting situation do interesting things."

"I overestimated you. Anyways, what's are your directions? Another antidote?" I raised a questioning brow as I started to express doubt on whether Griffin was reliable or not. She probably wasn't reliable, but I had no choice but to depend on her.

"You can say that."

"You better not screw up."

A grotesque frown marred her face as her eyes precariously narrowed at me, dwindling on the edge of fury. "Is that an insult boy?"

"Oh it was _nothing_."

"The young people these days," she grunted, huffing with crossed arms. "Both of you follow me."

We walked back in the rain to the office through the opening I had created. Griffin carefully placed the piece of wall back in the gap in the wall. When she saw the state of shambles her office was in, the drops of rainwater splayed on the floor, the windblown paper soaking in the puddles of water, which were also on the floor, and the fallen door, she screeched like hawk and immediately ran to the door.

"Door! No, Doory!" She furiously turned to me, baring her pearl white at my viciously. "What did you do to my precious Doory!"

"Doory?" I scoffed. _Looks like someone was lonely._ "Uh…Well…I broke _Doory_ down," I spoke matter-of-fact.

She fiercely lashed out a wave of anger through an intense glare. "You better be thankful that I haven't turned you into a toad yet."

Instead of backing off, I just shrugged and wandered the room, feeling the urge to gag when I saw a jar full of chicken eyeballs while Helia attempted to squeeze out all the rainwater from his hair. When he finished, the result was a mess of tangled hair resembling limp curtains.

_That's what you get when you have long hair, folks._

After performing some kind of witchy funeral ceremony for her door, she got to work with the potion. The wood underneath exploded with green fire after she muttered a line of jumbled words, and the fire eventually settled down into a humming glow. Then she started to through in a bunch of unidentifiable ingredients. I swore I could see a ghoul starring at me from the swirling liquid of bubbling black in the cauldron as Griffin stirred.

"Is this…safe?" Helia whispered to me after he joined me in the corner near a bookcase.

"Probably not," I slid a thick book with the gothic golden words How To's For Witches on its faded spine. I flipped to a random page in the book and began reading the title.

_How To Make A Fairy._

"What if we get cursed?"

"Then we get cursed. I'm sure that Flora's life is worth risking the chance of being cursed. Besides, someone once called me the Prince of Darkness," I easily replied, ignoring the shocked looks Helia sent me as I continued reading down the page.

_The process of making a fairy is simple. It takes nine months for the baby to be born, and then around a decade for it to mature._

"You're crazy."

"That's already been established long ago by my high school teachers," I pointed out.

"Then you're _insane_." Helia let out a defeated sigh, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and sulked, a rare act for Helia. "It's hard to compete against insane people in love, but that doesn't mean I'll give up."

"Me neither." My eyes glanced up see Helia eyeing me carefully, and I smirked. "I intend to win."

In response, he frowned, and opened his mouth to reply as I kept reading the page.

_First, you need to acquire the following things. First get a—_

My face turned scarlet red as I kept reading before I finally slammed the book shut, threw it to the ground like a slap, and proceeded to stomp on the god forbidden book like red ants.

Griffin screeched for the second time as she stared at my foot laying continuous blows to her poor book. She couldn't tear her eyes from my foot as it went up, and down. Up and down it went as she gaped with pure mindblowned shock.

"NO!" She rushed to push me out the way as she dove to save the book from the devil.

"You carry pornography!" I shouted.

She immediately rushed to nurse the book back to health as she brushed off the dirt from the injured binding of the book. She sneered at me, her voice laced with venom. "You're just bitter. Tearing down Doory didn't satisfy you, so you had to go try to murder Booky too. You ungrateful boy!"

"I saw that page—the one on making a fairy." I felt my face heat up and swore that my red cheeks were drying up my drenched up hairdo. At first, Griffin furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"How to make a fairy…" She donned a hateful smirk full and start to throw merciless taunts as she began to toy with me. "What's worng? Is the thought of collecting fairy eggs, injecting them with sperm, and incubating them in a human that wrong? Humans do it all the time with surrogate mothers and embryo banks. Or is it the pictures? Where you turned on?"

"Shut up," I growled.

"Pictures?" Helia raised his eyebrows questioningly before gulping fearfully. "Actually, on a second thought, I don't want to know."

"Oh, it's just a few pictures of intercourse…and various things. So Riven, as a healthy young man in the middle of his prime, cannot stomach those measly pictures. Interesting," she teased, grinning wildly like the Cheshire Cat.

"Shut up. Weren't you making the potion?"

"Ah! The potion will be done—"

The cauldron exploded, releasing lavender fumes smelling wet and slimy like a frog. I shivered at the comparison because Griffin had been threatening to turn me into one. Wanting to retain my humanity, I decided to try to be nicer.

After all the coughing and wheezing as tried to see through the gassy mess even though the gas seemed to cause my ears to water, Griffin croaked a "Now" before scurrying over to the cauldron.

Eventually all the gas emptied through the opening of the office, allowing us to breathe again. Griffin poured the solution into the vial and forcefully handed to me, wishing for me to be gone as soon as possible.

"Here, go pour this into Flora's mouth, and she'll return to normal. Be careful. When you two arrive back in the hospital, Flora may not act like herself?"

"What does that mean?" Helia asked.

"…Nevermind. Now hurry and leave! I hope I never have to see the both of you ever again."

"See us again?" I rolled my eyes, and pursed my lips as I sent a scornful look back. "I should be the one saying that. What have we ever done to you?"

"YOU terrorized my poor brothers and sisters!"

"You mean those inanimate objects?

"Doory, Booky, and even Wally!" She motioned to the piece of wall that she had carefully place back into the hole a couple minutes ago. I stared at her as if she were a newborn moron.

_Witches are depressing, lonely creatures._

"I should turn into a miserable toad!"

Suddenly Griffin lunged at me like a wildcat, and I instinctively bounded out of the way. Helia managed to plant his unmoving body that was as stiff as stone in between the both of us. He unwillingly played the precarious role of the peacemaker, a forced smile on his face.

"Now, now. No need to go around turning people into toads and ingredients," he carefully said to Griffin before turning to me. "And Riven, you shouldn't insult people's companions."

I rolled my eyes, again, not being able to tolerate the witch's odd companions and stupidity. "Who's the one who turned me into a woman for a hundred days?"

Griffin opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but no words came out. I victoriously grunted.

"Point taken," I victoriously said before walking out the door.

ººº

The first place Helia and I headed when we arrived back at the hospital was Flora's room. To are chagrin, we only met an empty bed. All of her visitors had left the room.

"She's gone?" Helia asked.

"Well, I don't know. Do you see her?" I sarcastically replied before checking every nook and cranny of the room.

"Where could she have gone?"

I pursed my lips, and pondered for a minute or two before replying, "The Cafeteria?"

In response, he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "How the heck did you get that answer?"

"I'll tell you later."

We arrived just in the time to hear a huge crash of plates. Cacophony started pouring out from the cafeteria in the form of scream and shouts, planting a growing seed of worry in my mind. As we hurried our pace down the hall, a dainty silhouette jumped out of the cafeteria's doors and started fleeing with light steps.

I immediately recognized Flora clad in her white, hospital gown that easily rustled with her every movement. I could not describe the feeling I felt as I watch Flora move in her building like a ghost. It took Helia and me many seconds for me to snap out of my daze.

"Flora!" I called out as we chased after her.

Despite our longer limbs, Flora's retreating figure didn't grow nearer. As we rounded the corner, we arrived just in time to see the elevator doors close with Flora's cheerful face that bid us farewell.

"Shit!" I cursed as Helia kept jamming his finger into the up button till the button broke.

"Oops…"

"Good job superman. You just broke the up button of this hospital's floor."

"No worries. There is another button." He started towards other set of button, ready to unleash another set of poke attacks. Luckily I swerved to block his pathway in time.

"Yea, about that, I'm pressing the button this time." It only took me one try for the button to light up with its happy glow, and after a short wait, the elevator opened with a pleasant chime. We scurried in and looked at the panel of buttons.

"Where to?" Helia asked, his index finger hovering over the panel.

"Let's try the rooftop," I decided with as I pushed the top button, and watched the floor number above at the top of the elevator go up. "I have a feeling she would be there."

"Again I ask—how?"

"Well, living in her body for one hundred days helps," I nonchalantly replied as I cursed at the elevator for moving slowly, chiding it to rise faster.

I literally bounced out of the elevator into the gloomy weather when the elevator opened, dashing around the rooftop as I tried to scan the area for Flora. I spotted Flora trying to climb the fence a few paces away.

She was trying to jump.

I quickly dug out the vial from my pants pocket in one swift movement.

"Restrain her Helia," I ordered quickly in a dull voice, trying to hide our presence from Flora as if she were a wild lion. We swiftly crept up behind Flora, and Helia grabbed her waist, pulling her away from the fence.

"LET GO YOU DICKLESS MAN!" She wildly flailed as Helia tried to carry to towards me, though the task proved to be difficult as Flora angrily tried to elbow Helia face and kick in his shins like some captured bird.

I popped the vial open, holding it up to Flora's lips, but Flora screwed her mouth tight.

"Drink," I ordered, pushing the vial to her lips, but she just turned her head with a frown.

"No Pighead. Sit Pighead," she managed to mutter without opening her lips enough for me to shoving the vial down her throat.

"What the—so this is what Griffin meant by different? You're acting like a mad superbaby. Drink!"

Flora glared at me with a sour expression, grunting and then throwing her head back to hit Helia with her skull. And then realizing that it was a smart move, she proceeded to slam her head into Helia again and again and again and again.

"Ow—stop— Riven! Give her the potion to turn her back to normal," Helia whined, frustrated with the way Flora had turned her head into a destructive weapon.

"She won't let me." And I doubted politely asking Flora to open her mouth would work. How could I crack her mouth open?

"Hey, if you don't open up your mouth, I'm going to pour acid on your flowers."

No response.

"I bet you curl up in a corner every night and burn flowers with a match while cackling like a maniac."

No response.

Frustrated, I growled until an idea dawned on me.

I was officially brilliant.

I started the pour the liquid that resembled black polish into my mouth, being careful not to swallow the unbearably bitter solution. It not only looked like black polish, but tasted like it too.

_That's it. Griffin probably replaced the potion with black polish._

I wore a permanent wince on my face as I approached Flora who looked frightened.

"Sss-Stop! STOP! ST—"

I tilted her chin up for easier access as pushed my lips onto hers, inserting my tongue through stubborn lips to force her mouth open. The potion easily flowed into her mouth, trudging its way down her mouth. I tried to ignore Flora crying, reminding myself that it was for her own good. When I felt no more potion in my mouth, I finally released.

"I need water," I grumbled and spat on the ground and looked at Helia who blushed with wide eyes before I glanced at Flora.

There was a dark ring of residue around her lips. Her eyes lazily drooped down before she felt into slumber and Helia finally loosened his grip around her.

"What the heck do you think you are doing," he muttered as he zoned in on me with threatening anger.

"It's called mouth-to-mouth feeding."

"She's the girl I like."

"I'm saving Flora's life." I snapped back. That managed to sedate Helia's emotions. "Let's put her back into her bed. The hospital staff are probably livid right now"

Helia easily agreed. When we got arrived, the nurses literally balled the tears out their eyes when they saw me carrying Flora bridal style. I wanted to join them, but instead I settled for a hefty sigh.

I missed the normal Flora—the one who didn't try to jump off from a hundred foot hospital.

* * *

_Hope you guys enjoy long chapters. _


	25. Pixie Dust

_Disclaimer: It's the twenty-fifth time. Surely you know what goes here by now._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE – PIXIE DUST**

I could feel my mind drifting at the edge of my consciousness, serene silence filling up the void created by warped emotions residing in my mind. I was free from the emotions that chained me down when I was awake

Jealousy. Distress. Nervousness. Insecurities.

Grotesque emotions ran rampant, but I held them at bay in my mind, trying my best to ignore them while I was conscious. But, here, in this pit of darkness, I could finally relax. I was finally at peace though. No problems troubled me. No people called me.

This was death.

People.

Riven.

The name sounded warm and strong like an asylum, a place of refuge. Then another name followed it.

Musa.

Anxiety poured in and rushed through my consciousness like a tsunami. I couldn't stay in this state anymore. I had to return to reality to untangle all the problems I had created. That duty fell to me.

_But reality will hurt us. We're so sensitive, we can't take the pain._

Even so, I had to go.

_Why? Because of guilt? You think it's your responsibility to face everything and pretend to be brave. You aren't brave. We aren't brave._

The true words resonated within me. Guilt forced me forward. I knew that I had to receive my punishment. No matter how painful it was, I had to receive some punishment to quell the guilt inside of me. I had to. I just had to.

Then the darkness finally lifted.

ººº

The sweet chirping of birds woke me up in the morning with a nauseating migraine. When my eyes creaked open, the first thing I saw were big, round hazel eyes boring into my own. As she sat my stomach, she stared straight in my eyes, studying me intently before remarking, "You're eyes are pretty."

Am I in heaven or am I in hell?

Then, from the corner of my eyes, I spotted a strand of my honey-colored hair. I had to catch my breath. I was back in my body. The news felt unreal. Tears of joy started to pool at the corner of my eyes as I grinned like maniac.

_I'm in my body…I'm in my body! I'M IN MY BODY! _

However, my shock lasted for only a few second because Chatta easily distracted me again with her curious eyes that were bigger than saucers.

"Th-Thanks?" I stammered.

She brightly smiled and dove in for a hug, wrapping her arms around me with massive strength unusual for a little girl her age. She lightly giggled before climbing off my body, allowing me to sit up. To beamed again, her rosy cheeks brightening up.

"I've decided! You're my fairy god mother! I'm Chatta! Six years old! I'm the patient sleeping next to you!" I glanced at her fluttery white dress, which I had easily mistaken as an angel's uniform.

"Nice to meet you Chatta. I'm Flora," I replied, a bit shaken up from being greeted with overblown enthusiasm right after I woke up.

"I know who you are silly!" she chirped. "I've been watching you for some time from over there." She excitedly jerked her thumb over to the next bed hidden by the curtain before she let out another giggle.

"Hm? What you are you laughing about?"

"Ah…just something little. I saw something funny while you were sleeping," she replied with a mischievous smile plastered on her face.

"When I was asleep?"

She had on the most mischievous smile plastered on her face, and didn't bother to hide the fact that she knew a secret as she giggled. "It was funny."

"What was funny."

"Noooothiiiiiing," she squeaked.

I crinkled my brows in confusion and whined, "That's not very fair."

"Oh by the way, you have a lots of friends. You know, you know, is the Pinkyhead your boyfriend?"

"Pinkyhead?" I pondered the name for a while, till I realized she must have been referring to Riven. My face lit up with embarrassment. "Y-y-you mean m-m-magenta?"

"He's your boyfriend?"

"No! He's…just a friend."

"Hmm," she hummed pensively, frowning as if she was unsatisfied. She puckered her lips as her eyes wandered around the room till they suddenly widened at the open door. "Oh no! Nurse Griselda," she whispered in alarm.

Her body suddenly ducked behind the bed, and I glanced that door to see tall, wrinkly nurse entering the room with surprised eyes. Then she smiled at me with a hint of annoyance—or was it a sneer?

"You've been a bad girl Miss Flora," she clucked, her malevolent eyes gleaming from behind her round-rimmed glasses.

"I've been a…what?"

In my entire life, no one had ever called me a bad girl, even when I was a little toddler. Back in kindergarten, while everyone was scrawling on the tired teachers face and tying her up in a chair, I quietly would persuade them not too. I was the good girl!

"You've caused us a lot of trouble. You've ransacked our kitchen, started a cafeteria food fight, and pantsed the nurses and doctors," she informed in a cruel, nasally voice.

"I've…**WHAT**?"

Suddenly the malicious look on the nurses softened as she pushed up the rim of her glasses. "Do you seem to have developed a split personality."

I was speechless as I gaped at the nurse and shook my head with denial. "No, no, no. I did NOT do that…OH WAIT! Tell me, am I not on earth anymore? Am I in heaven?"

The nurse's already graying head seemed to become one shade duller, as her worried eyes narrowed. "Oh dear. Insanity too?"

"So I'm on Mother Earth?"

"Yes dear. You've been on this planet for the last twenty-one years, nine months, twenty-six days, thirteen hours, fourty-eight minutes, and twenty seconds of your life of your life."

"Excuse me?"

"I have a superb sense of time," the nurse nonchalantly explained.

"…I see." I couldn't hide my disturbed stare.

"Anyways, you're family will be happy to see you up and moving. They left right before you evil split-personality cause havoc," she tittered in a pitying tone as she patted my back. Somehow, that annoyed me and got a frown tugged at my lip's corners.

"I don't have an evil split-personality."

"Poor girl. It's ok to be in denial. It was nice seeing you. Now then, I'll go check if Chatta is hiding here again."

The nurse started into the deeper section of the room towards the bed closer to the window, but a few minutes later she hurried back over.

"Have you seen her?" she quickly rattled her voice, her sharp finger pointing at the bed.

"Hm?" I could feel a tender tug on my blanket, and realized that Chatta had hidden from view by covering her body with my long sheets.

"Chatta. She had brown pigtails and energetic, big eyes. She's a hyper kid, so she's hard to miss."

"Oh..well..um…" I could somehow sense the anxiousness emanating from Chatta's tugs, which I tried to camouflage by squirming a lot in bed.

"Your sheets look loose. Shall I tighten—"

"No, it is ok." I tried to give the most convincing smile I could manage. "I like them this way."

"So have you seen Chatta?"

"Well…um…" I continued to squirm. My eyes started to wander.

"She told me she was going to go downstairs to the lobby," I lied.

"Thank you." She started to grumble with bitter, hardly audible words before letting out a sigh and leaving the room. The door slid shut. After a few more seconds of silence, I urged Chatta to come out. Then the door slid open, and I hurriedly covered Chatta.

"Yes?" I asked as I whipped my head around.

"Flora?"

Riven stood at the door with his almost stoic, half smile that evolved into a full, blown out, coy grin. The atmosphere grew so quiet I could hear the rampant beating of my heart that almost jumped out at Riven's appearance. I suddenly felt so weak. Was it because I was back in my own body?

"H-Hey R-Riven."

He mussed his hair, his eyes flickering between me and the group, then heaved a sigh of relief before shutting the door behind him. My eyes followed his every motion and studied it. Watching his body move from a third person point of view acted as an eye opener.

"Hey," he coolly greeted.

Suddenly, for the first time for a long time, I felt shy in front of Riven, and it felt awkwardly, uncomfortable. My body heated up and grew tense. I shook my head violently, and started to hit it. What was wrong with me?

A sudden giggle destroyed the silence in the room along with the tense atmosphere. Riven's eyes narrowed and searched the room frantically.

Chatta crawled out from the sheet and poked her head out from behind the bed, her lips mockingly puckered. "I saw youuuu!"

"Huh?"

"I saw you…_mwah_ _mwah_ _MWAH_!" Chatta started to make puckering noises. I didn't get it, but somehow Riven did. Shades of blush colored his cheeks.

"It was you!" His finger accusingly pointed at the sweet angel.

"It was me!" she repeated like a little parrot.

"Shh...The nurse will hear," I repeated. "Chatta, you aren't really the patient sleeping on the other bed right?"

Chatta grinned, her cheeks lighting up like bulbs. "You got me."

"You're supposed to be the children ward."

"But over there it's so boooring," she whined while she curled up in the cutest, little ball I ever saw. Nevertheless, I laid down the law.

"Chatta…" I strictly warned.

"I can't be here? The evil ogre is gone. You, myfairy godmother defeated her! You're the best fairy godmother in the world!" she squealed as she bombarded me with a love-hug attack.

I did not know whether to take her words as a compliment. I had always wanted to be a fairy, but, primarily, weren't fairy godmothers…old? But old people were wise, so that meant I was…wise?

I grinned and surrender, patting Chatta on the back like a crying baby.

"And mind telling me who that hell _she _is?" Riven placed a nasty emphasis on the she as he sent her scornful looks, but Chatta returned his glare with one of her own with twice the intensity.I trembled slightly.

_Little girls sure are intimidating._

"You think you're my formidable opponent?" Riven scoffed.

"No. I think you're just jealous."

At that remark, Chatta snuggled up to me more, digging her head into my chest as she comfortably rested. Riven about looked ready to pounce on the little darling, and the look on his made my cheeks heated up. A strange sense of happiness swelled within me.

Chatta brightened up and abruptly jumped off from my chest and crawled over to Riven, puckering her lips as if implying something. Then she motioned for Riven to come closer, and then said, "I have something that would make you feel better."

She craned up neck up till and cupped her hands around her mouth as she excitedly whispered something to Riven before giving him a peck on the cheek. In return, Riven went bright red again.

All I could do was watch in wonder. Riven sure furrowed his brows in confusion.

Then the door slide open.

"Chatta!" the "evil ogre". "You're supposed to be in the children ward!"

"Aw…but…"

"No buts. Come with me." The nurse lifted the tiny angel into the air and carried her out. Despite the forced removal from the scene, Chatta still beamed with glee.

"Bye fairy godmother! Come visit me sometime!" She waved with a big smile stretched across her face.

When Chatta rounded the corner, Riven's attention switched back to me.

"So you should leave the hospital soon."

"Yes I should."

"So how does it feel to be a girl again?"

"Interesting. How about you?"

"It's interesting." I couldn't tear my eyes off of Riven for some reason. "What? Did you accidently leave half you mind in my body?"

I grinned cheerfully, and replied. "You mean did _you_ leave half your mind in my body?" I playfully stuck out my tongue as Riven just rolled his eyes.

"By the way, what did Chatta whisper to you?"

Riven immediately froze before he started for the door. "Nothing much. Nice seeing you awake. Leave the hospital soon, and I've arranged a ride from the hospital for you."

After he left, all was left with a long period of silence for me to roam in my thoughts.

_Well, that was uneventful_.

I sighed and glanced around the room, catching an ivory bowl full of cherry blossoms sitting on my bedside, which hadn't been there before. Did Riven bring it? His whole visit suddenly became eventful.

ººº

After surviving through a dreadfully long checkup with a doctor, who insisted I had a split personality, I could leave the hospital wearing the clothes that my parents had dropped off earlier. Currently, my worrisome dad was wailing to me through the phone.

"_You are you ok? Do you have any broken bones? Are you feeling faint? Are you pregnant?"_

"Dad, I'm fine. I'll be arriving at my apartment soon. I have to hang up now because I'm leaving the hospital."

"_Ok. Well are you keeping yourself warm?"_

"Yes."

"_Stay safe._"

"I know dad."

"_See you soon flower._"

"Bye."

When the call ended, I left out a large sigh that had been accumulating throughout the whole day.

Like any other winter day, the chilly air prickled its victim's skin and shook the branches of the trees. The sky was already darkening into a beautiful winter sunset due to the shorter winter days. Before I could check to see if my ride had arrived, my had to untangle the mess of hair that the wind created, and the second I finished, my eyes widened.

A sleek black limo sat in the driveway, and a dark silhouette stood next to it, his head bowed with his right hand over his heart.

"Flora," the figure dressed in a chauffeur's outfit acknowledged. Then he raised his head slightly, and I caught the sight of his chiseled jaw, and flirty eyes.

"Brandon?" I gasped. Conveniently ignoring all the envious stares from visitors, I quickly scurried over to him.

He grinned like the gentleman he is. "I've been told to be your chauffeur for the night. The night is young, and you're so beautiful...and demanding"

"It's only three, Brandon, and the sun is still up."

"I have the pleasure of driving a fine lady this _afternoon_. Step into the limo."

"But—"

"Step into the limo," he repeated in a more strained note. When I still move, he reassuringly said, "Come on. Play along to this pretend game."

"O-O-Ok."

Brandon didn't drive my back to my apartment like I had suspected. Instead in drove me to a salon and a boutique. When I questioned what was going all, he would always reply, "You'll see."

Four hours later, we arrived at a towering, golden hotel glittering with night lights. Brandon, who had changed into a tux, gracefully opened the door for me, and I tried to step out into the cool night air without ripping my pink ballroom gown.

"Welcome to your ball, Princess."

"What's going on?"

"It's December 31st..." No response. "...You're invited to our company's New Year Party..."

"I-I'm invited?"

"Come on. You don't truly think we are coldhearted devils who would just work you to death and not reward you?"

I paused for a second, pondering the answer to his question, but couldn't voice it when I found it.

"Wow, you do." Brandon sighed. "We invited you as a thank you, but I guess that's too hard to believe."

I stayed silent and pensively glanced at the grand golden hotel called Hotel Solaria as Brandon led me to down to a fairytale-like scene filled with extravagantly dressed women and handsome men. Multiple chandeliers sparkled, and a curtain of light fell.

It was the start of a beautiful night that would ultimately ended in disappointment.

* * *

_As usual review and critique if I screwed up the concept of PB&J. Don't be shy._

_It's hot. I'm sleepy. Good night. _


	26. Our Vows

_Disclaimer: I. Am. Straffi. Believe it. Eat it. Swallow it. And burn. (Just in case you are gullible, the preceding was a lame joke.)_

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**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX – OUR VOWS**

As many partiers danced to the rhythm of the music, I had wandered off to a more secluded corner with his wine cup. I felt more content by myself. I hadn't even wanted to attend the ball in the first place, but then Brandon informed me with a teasing attitude that Flora would make an appearance.

Chatta's whispered words were stuck in my mind.

"_I sprinkled a little pixie dust on you, so now you can fly to Flora's heart!"_

What the hell did that mean?

It was just the immature words of a childish girl, but somehow it gave me more hope that I wasn't rejected. Ever since I confessed, I had been feeling anxious because Flora never mentioned the confession. I wondered if she conveniently ignored it because she didn't return my feelings, or if she honestly didn't hear it. Now I was leaning more towards the latter.

"Hey Riven. I'll accompany you in this little corner of yours," Timmy greeted as he strolled up to my side.

I gave a disgruntled grunt. "Tecna' here you know."

"So?" he innocently replied.

"_So?_" I sarcastically mimicked him. "Aren't you going to use the little time you have to win her over? That would be the _logical_ route."

"Love flourishes if you put the right amount of distance. Or so Brandon says. He told me not to be clingy."

"When did you become the love guru?" A chuckle escaped my lips because I couldn't imagine any other way to win the unemotional woman's heart than be being clingy. "_Whatever you say man_," I replied, my voice drenched in sarcasm.

"Riven…you've changed."

My eyebrows rose."Really? How?"

"I don't know. You're less …manly?"

"Manly?" I scoffed. I narrowed my eyes, about to spit another sarcastic remark when, from the corner of my eye, I spotted a bright bob of lavender making its way across the floor. "Oh look, there's that android girl of your dreams. Why don't you go teach her how to dance."

"I can't dance," he whispered.

"What a coincidence," I said in mock enthusiasm. "I'm sure she doesn't either. You two make a perfect pair."

I casted Timmy out into the dance floor full of action, albeit forcefully. As I continued to zone out, a blur of pink rushed across my vision. When I glanced up from my wine glass, a fairy stood in front of me, clad in a cool pink gown and a spirited air. She stunned me with her graceful beauty.

"R-Riven," she greeted.

"Hey," I coolly replied.

Suddenly, Sky's merry voice boomed. Sky stood on top of a stage at the front of the room in his periwinkle suit, sparkling from the gems adorning his sleeves.

"Happy New Years Eve to all my jolly, gay friends!" he sang. "I'm sure many of you have been in a mad frenzy concerning the recent news of the Specialist's new drummer. So I am pleased to announce that the individual is currently in the sea of celebration before me."

Curious conversation suddenly sprung up as people turned their heads 360 degrees to spot the mentioned person.

"Sadly, due to reasons pertaining to privacy, I cannot disclose his name, but I do want to show my gratitude. I can't begin to express my thanks to that lovely individual who willingly volunteered himself to work with the band. He worked hard. Will you all give him a round of applause!"

A round of applause sounded with a few enthusiastic hoots. My eyes widened in surprise as I glanced at Flora and saw a look of bewilderment. "What's with that frightened face?" I whispered, "They're cheering for you." A wide-eyed look of recognition, followed by a flustered face, fell on her face, and the desire to give her a hug swelled within me. She was just too cute.

"Anyways, midnight is still far off so till then, let's party and enjoy ourselves to the fullest!"

More cheers erupted as Sky sent a flirtatious wink to a certain woman in the audience. Eventually the commotion died and the music, dancing, and socialization recommenced. And so did my one-on-one time with Flora.

I glanced at the lady again and drank in her beauty. I could definitely see the effects of the alcohol taking its charge in my body.

"Well, um…" Flora mumbled.

"Want to dance?" Once the words slipped off my lips and resonated with the winter air, and I take them back.

To my surprised, Flora accepted, and we floated over to the dance floor, swaying to the slow beat of the music. Everything went perfectly until, I stepped on her dainty toe, and she squeaked in pain, but we still kept gliding here and there regardless of my mistakes. A few seconds later, Flora carried out her revenge and stepped on my own toe, then I stepped on hers, and then she stepped on mine. We ultimately sunk into the violent The Person Who Steps On More Toes Wins Game.

"Riven, could it be that you don't know how to dance_?"_

"I _can_ dance," I defensively grunted. "Do you know how to dance?

"Excuse me?"

"Should I count all the times you stepped on me?"

Putting my hand back on her slender waist where it comfortably sat for the past few minutes, I gave a satisfied grin. Flora just shook her head and placed her hands back behind my neck.

"This is so immature," she grumbled with a fierce snap in her voice that surprised me. I didn't see moody Flora that often.

"You were doing it too."

"You started it," she pointed out.

"I just stepped on you once," I defended. "_On accident_."

"You stepped on metwice," Flora snapped, a determined gleam in her eyes that shone with a rare, competitive glint. I couldn't help but grin.

"No I didn't."

"You did you—you butt."

"Butt?" I gaped. "Is that the only insulting name you could think of? Pretty pathetic." Then she impaled me with her heel again and I cringed in pain.

"Oops. I'm sorry," she managed to feign the apology.

And the game of stepping on each other commenced once again.

Eventually we finally retired from the toe smashing when Helia came up from behind us, and asked to dance with Flora. My automatic answer was no, but Helia easily ignored it. That bastard.

I limped back to the tables to watch from afar as the long-haired prince and princess danced as I sipped another glass of wine. The only reason I only allowed them to dance was because the searing pain in my feet. Yes. I was just being gracious so Flora could enjoy hersefl.

After one more dance, Flora surrendered to her toes and limped towards me. "My poor toenails," she mumbled with a grimace.

"My poor _bruised _toenails," I shot back at her. She just glared at me with her soft, verdant eyes.

"Please don't start this again. I wish to act…civilized." Then she resumed with massaging her feet.

The grimace on her face made me regret my words. "…Sorry. Are you feet ok?"

Flora turned to me with a look of surprise on her face. "Y-Yea. It's not that bad. I mean…I'm not bleeding or anything, so...don't worry."

"T-That's good then," I said, satisfied. "By the way, what was with that surprised look?"

"Oh…I was trying to remember the last time I heard an apology come from your mouth."

I couldn't repress the smirk carving its way onto my face. "You better remember it well, because I'm not going to do it again."

"I know, I know. The Great Riven doesn't bow his head to anyone," she chuckled.

Little things like teasing the innocent girl, staring at her smile, and hearing her voice, could satisfy me. Or maybe, I allowed myself to be satisfied with those simple acts because I knew I couldn't go further without tainting her startling pureness—a pureness standing in stark contrast to me. Maybe that's why I was so drawn by her. Her soothing presence was addicting. Flora was so tempting. I could do a few things without crossing the border into a primitive land beyond my control.

It was too late for me to leave Flora alone. I had no willpower to do so.

That's what I thought.

I was wrong.

"You want to take a walk outside?" she asked me,

Flora gazed at me, clear verdant eyes intently staring at me. When our gazes met, a fervent blush colored our cheeks. "Sure…"

We both pondered on our destination together, but we couldn't decide and decided to just wander. Five halls, and three stairways later, we up ended up in the hotel's garden, full of cleanly cut, high hedges

I lowered my eyes as Flora, who suddenly seemed more sensitive than ever before. An unprecedented atmosphere of awkwardness fell upon us. Getting accustomed to conversing in our original bodies would take some getting used to, but we had lots of time to return to the previous state of our relationship.

"Riven?"

I could tell Flora right now. It was the perfect time. The setting was romantic as if it were from some cliché fairytale, Flora was dressed like a princess, and my tongue was lose from all the alcohol. I could spill everything that I hid inside for weeks. I could get it over with. The prospect sounded so nice, but rejection sounded so cruel. Fear sounded torturous.

"I l-like you." Her voice was wry and nervous. I stared at Flora in surprise, not believe my ears. At first Flora looked elated as a smile slowly grew with tears pooling in her , I reached out for her hand. She lightly gasped and snatched her hand out of my reach. "I…I…" She froze. The words that came from her mouth plunged my hopes "No...not like this. This is wrong."

My eyes widened slowly as my heart dropped again. I casted one last look of wonder at Flora, and then my heart rose quickly like a tide. Flora never was a good liar; everytime she lied, her eyes would flutter and look away.

What had happened? Had I been rejected right after being confessed to?

"What's wrong?" I kept glancing at her as she turned her head away from me, using her soft hair as a curtain. "Can't you look at me?" Flora kept silence. A seed of anger grew in me as my hands gruffly pulled Flora's shoulders toward me.

I immediately regretted the action as Flora stared back at me, red-eyed and flushed. "Sorry," she cried.

"Flora?"

"I'm sorry, but give me some time. That's…"her voice almost failed as she held back a sniffle. "Sorry. I'm so confused."

My brows creased in worry."About what?"

"What I'm supposed to do and the emotions clouding up my reasoning. And I feel so sorry towards Musa."

The links in my mind snapped into place. "She's just another fangirl out of all the millions who are stuck in a delusion about lo—"

"She my best friend!" Flora's lower lips quivered as she wiped around her tears and tried to clear the frazzle face she was making by taking a deep breath. It didn't work, but at least her furrowed eyes relaxed. "S-Sorry…I was just trying to say that..." She released a jaded sigh. "Never mind."

I cared about Musa too as a person, but the thought of her little celeb love obstructing the chances of my confession to pour out smoothly irked me. No. Correction: It pissed me off. I finally could have a private conversation with Flora in her own body, and _this_ happens?

Flora drew in a breath and tucked a lock of her russet hair behind her ear. "I thought that if I confessed, then I wouldn't feel so apprehensive, but when I did, I remember Musa and how I'm deceiving her, completely. It felt so wrong. Then…I wondered what would happen if she learned about how I feel. She would hate me. Anyways, I have a favor to ask?"

"Go on."

"It's just for a while, but could you promise me that we won't contact each other. Seeing you in this way with my head in such a muddle just confuses me even further. I need to think rationally, but I can't do it when I surrounded and pressured by your expectations," she desperately whispered in pain. "Please."

"What kind of logic is that?"I didn't comprehend her words full of pain no matter how much I used my mind. I couldn't get why Flora had such a strong sense of responsibility. I didn't get any of it. And it drove me crazy because I was so used to being able to see through her.

I stiffened up as her eyes watered up again, and then she just started wailing, her lips pressed into a thin lip. Words fled me as I watched her clear tears splash onto the bare, concrete pavement.

"Sorry," she sniffed, wiping a tear away with her finger. "It's just—I'm not usually like this. It's just that today I suddenly feel so cranky and…" Flora rubbed away a trail of tears from her cheeks. Then her muscles froze, and her face lifted up to meet mine nervously. With a flushed face and, she asked with a wild stutter, "D-D-D-D-Do y-y-you have a p-p-p-p-p-pad?"

She nodded.

Flora continued to sniff up the mucus pouring down her nose. Unlike how movies portrayed crying, the actual action was far attractive. Yet, even though she looked like a mess, I I couldn't help but want her even more. At the same time, I couldn't help but worry.

"I really need a pad," she sniffled.

I heavily sighed and massaged the bridge of my nose. "Let's go buy you a pad. I'll drop you off on the way back."

"I'm…I'm sorry."

When was I ever going to have a normal conversation with Flora—the real Flora in her _own _body? On our first meeting, she cried because of her ex; the second time I saw her in her body, she was coma; the third time, she was trying to jump off the hospital; and the fourth time, she was bipolar. Now I wouln't be able to see her till gets all her shit was taken care of. I swore I was the only guy in the universe with these kind of girl problems.

ººº

My eyes lazily swung to give Helia a passing glance. He crooked his eye at me. "What's with the gloomy face? What happened this time?"

"Do you _really_ want to know? Well, just an hour ago I bought Flora a diaper, drove her back home, and…and…my feet felt like they've just walked through hell."

Helia looked like I had just confessed that I had fallen in love with his grandfather at first sight. "…E-Excuse me?" He boomed in a voice too loud for my mood. I grunted and dragged my eyes and looked at Helia sarcastically.

"I'm just kidding about the diaper. Take a joke," I deadpanned, my whole self feeling vacant to the very core.

"What is with your attitude? Are you mad?"

"Yes. Very. Why? You thought I would be happy?"

"Well," Helia with a start, "for one, you are back in your body. Two, Flora is back in her body and is acting normal again. And it's New Years Eve. Actually, scratch out the last reason. You always hated big gathering overflowing with mirth. Anyways, I don't get you. You acted happier before when you were stuck as a woman. Antsy, but happier."

I tiredly sighed and glanced back at the dancers who swayed to the slow song of the night. I should've been jumping for joy, but at the moment I was far from a celebratory mood, especially after my little fight—no talk with Flora. I was beginning to want insane wishes being in Flora's body. Insane I tell you. In-sane.

"Easy on the alcohol," Helia carefully took the glass from my hand. I tried to grab for it, but Helia held the glass far from my reach.

"I won't get drunk," I grumbled.

He shrugged. "You never know. Last time you said that, you turned into an angry drunkard. Anyways, mind telling me who or what caused you to look like the Grinch."

"I don't know."

"Huh?"

"I don't friggin know," I repeated in annoyance.

"I don't know about what?"

"Everything. Women, life, relationships…periods."

Helia brows furrowed even deeply, wrinkles creasing on his forehead. "What happened?"

"I don't know," I growled in frustration. "A confession led to this, and this led to that, and that led to this."

I observed Helia's composed face contort into one of shock."You what?" Helia hissed looking scandalized. "Confession?"

"She confessed to me." I supposed this was the cue to start feeling cocky, but at tht moment, I felt too shitty to even gloat. "And dumped me…for her friend right after."

"…Are you serious?"

"Can you stop acting so surprised every damn second?" I swiftly snatched the glass from Helia's hand while he was off guard and started towards a server to get my late refill and to flee from Helia who ticked me off with his annoying questions.

"So what did she say?"

"Made me promise?" I wistfully answered as I turned back to Helia who's face instantly lit up with hope before sinking back into bewilderment.

"Promise what?"

"Made me promise not to see her. And I gave in even though I thought it was impossible. How am I supposed to avoid her till she stops avoiding me? What the hell is that anyways?"

"I don't get it."

"You're not alone," I sighed, "I just don't get women."

"Then go gay."

"Nah. That's okay."

"Too bad," Helia indifferently replied after the casual rejection. "So she rejected you?"

"I told you it was a _break_," I growled through my clenched teeth before downing another shot of wine. Then as I wiped the corner of my mouth with her sleeve, I narrowed my eyes at Helia. "Ingrain that into your mind you asshole."

He easily ignored my violent glare, and loosely delivered his next question effortlessly, "So how do you feel?"

"I feel like I ran a desperate marathon for her sake all for nothing. And I hate Griffin more if that's even possible." It was unwarranted anger, but I needed to direct it somewhere.

"So, you aren't going to see Flora anymore?"

I rolled my eyes at Helia lost expression and gave him the whole explanation as if it was a tiring chore. "Break or no break, I know that we'll meet again. Fate played crazy cards to bring us together. It'll do it again."

I didn't know that the next two months would push my perseverance to the core.

Sky's drunken voice amplified over the microphone, galvanizing me out of my stupor. "Ye sho are hypah guys! Tis almost m-m-m-MIDNIGHT GUYS! Oh! Ye shee that clock! COUNT ALONG! Ten! Nine! Eight!"

_I think I'm getting a headache from the intoxicated speaker._

"Sheven! Shix! Five! Fo! Tree! To! One! HAPPEH NEW YE!"

All the people around me joyously cheered. And as for me, I proceed to deliver my new year present Sky. I hoped he would enjoy my sucker punch.

* * *

_Yes. Two people stepping on each others toes is my definition of romantic fluff. By the way, if you could comprehend Sky...you should go see the doctor. Love you._

_Renachi_


	27. Break

_Disclaimer: Let's straighten things out. Renachi does not equal Straffi._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN – BREAK**

"I'm back."

My pulse raced as I entered the apartment. I was back, officially. Returning back home for the first time in an hundred days felt out of place. And the last time I had interacted with Musa as her best friend felt like strangely distant. The past felt like a vivid dream that blurred the line between reality and imagination.

Fear wracked my nerves and turned me into a detestable person. But I knew that even if I was scared, I had to do it. I promised Riven that I would.

I had to. I had to. I had to. I had to. But…what if I didn't?

If I didn't, what was the point of making Riven promise?

_I made him promise to forget…_

Before I even told Musa a word, I had already started doubting own words. Insecure thoughts hounded me. My mind couldn't stop the influx of "don't wants" flooding into my mind, but I managed to gather determination by believing that my emotions and feelings would get through to her and solve all misunderstandings

"I can do it," I whispered cheers to myself as I approached the living room.

To my surprise, Musa was absent, so I decided to take a shower to freshen up after a long day. The sensation of hot water seeped into every nook and cranny of my body, softening my worries and relaxing my limbs. As I started to scrub my body, I once again had uplifting moment of denial. I had returned to my body. No matter how many times I experienced the realization reality still felt weird. It was almost as my mind was unconsciously denying every passing second.

Maybe I wanted to consider the present as a dream so that the past happy one hundred days with Riven would be reality. Did I fear the future? Was I dissatisfied with the present? Did yearn for the past?

As the showerhead sprayed hot water directly at my head, I shook my head in frustration, drops of water flying from my matted hair. I needed to stop thinking unless thoughts.

Sometime during the night, I had fallen asleep on the couch. A hand gently nudged my arm, waking me up. Still half-asleep in a daze, I glaced up at the person who woke me up—Musa. She started down me with bright smiling eyes.

"Flora!" she brimmed with cheer and wrapped her arms around me. Despite my determination, the sharp pain still penetrates by conscious.

"You're back," I weakly mumbled with failed enthusiasm before Musa released and made eye contact again.

"You're back Flora! You should have called me so I could have picked you up."

"Mhm. I should have. Where were you tonight?"

"I came back from a New Year Party at the club I work at. They wanted to celebrate my accomplishment with the whole show thingy too, but I came back early. I love dancing and all, but being around people for so long tires me out."

"Mhm." I gently smiled and glanced down, slightly lost for words. "Cause we're both introverts."

"Exactly." Musa grinned with perky lips as she start to start towards the bedroom. "Let me go change and—"

"I need to tell you something," I blurted out and cringed when I heard my horrid voice slathered in angst. Where did all that confidence go?

Musa walked back to my side and sat down next to me. "Sounds urgent. What is it?"

"I have to tell you the truth."

Musa's brows grew together in confusion. "What truth?"

I opened my mouth, my something caught my breath, and nothing came out.

"What's wrong?"

"I…" My body started to trembled as I glanced into Musa's bright eyes that would be clouded in hate in just a few seconds. "I haven't been _me_ for the past hundred days?"

"Hundred days? What the hell?"

At first, I spoke with disconnected sentences as my breathing grew erratic, and I tried to calm my pulse by focusing on small detail on Musa's face like her nose. Eventually the whole story spilled out of my mouth, and I watched with apprehension as her eyes widened at certain parts and her lips pursed into a thin line.

"Sorry Musa," I ruefully whispered to her as she casted my head down in shame. "For everything."

Then all I had left to do was wait in agonizing trepidation. The stifiling silence killed me as the suspense excited my heart to beat faster and faster like train. When Musa spoke, I didn't know whether to sigh in relief or to jump in surprise. "You deceived me for a hundred days?"

"Yea."

"You expect me to believe this?"

"Yea…"

"So you knew I liked _you_. This whole time? It was a lie?"

The ugly truth was unable to escape from my lips.

"Flora. Look at me."

I hesitantly dragged my gaze to Musa slowly like the rising sun and swallowed hard when we made eye contact. Hurt pooled in her eyes.

"All the hints were there," she mumbled She let out a bitter laugh, as a painful grin forced its way on her face. "I should have known when you started acting moody, but I didn't. I started suspecting something when I noticed that Layla would never wanted to invite you—or should I say Riven—out to hand out. She wouldn't mention you. She wouldn't invite you to our gathering, and I found it really odd."

I blankly stared at Musa.

"You know that time when we were watching movies—all three of us—Riven, you, and me? You know that time when you two thought I fell asleep? I was just resting my eyes for a while, but then when I heard you guys start addressing each other by different names, I couldn't bring myself to wake up. I couldn't believe my ears back then…so I passed it off as a dream."

Tears welled in her eyes as her voice grew jerky. I swallowed a painfully piercing lump in my throat that burned my nose and eyes. I wanted to apologize, but no word could come out no matter how much my mind pleaded with my voice to speak.

"Why didn't you tell me? I'm your roommate. I'm your best friend that you tell everything to, so why?"

_Why?_

_Because you liked Riven._

It suddenly occurred to me the intent behind my actions. Everything suddenly clicked together like a jigsaw puzzle. I was jealous of Musa who could live with Riven, so I pulled a cowardly stunt and hid the truth from Musa using weak pretenses.

"You like him right, Riven?" No answer.

"Why?" Musa demanded. No answer.

"_Why_?" Musa asked again, her voice reached a scream as tears streamed down her cheeks. When I didn't answer again, she swallowed her pain, biting her lower lip back vexingly. "Just tell me. I won't get mad. Tell me why you this all this, and I will forgive you."

The silence that settled over drove me crazy as I balanced on the needlelike point of tears. I couldn't look at Musa or speak to her because I feared the rush of tears would overflow, so I just sat, not saying a word.

I heard Musa shift in her seat before her figure rose up her seat. "Nothing to say?" she scoffed. "Fine. I'm going to go stay with Layla for a while. You aren't going to stop me from leaving are you?"

The words were stuck in my throat.

A few minutes later, Musa left, shutting the door with a resounding bang. All I could do was sit on the couch, frozen and unsure on what to do other than stare at the brindled carpet.

I should have ran after her and tried to say something, anything, to keep her from leaving, but I didn't. My lips couldn't spout anymore weak lies, but I mind couldn't wrap itself around the fact that I had hurt my best friend out of selfishness and jealousy. I was so ugly and twisted that I didn't want to accept it.

Insecurity instantly enveloped me in darkness.

Useless. Spineless. Horrible. Betrayer. Hypocrite.

That was me.

The clock chime signaled the coming of midnight, and I realized that it was the new year. And I was all alone, trapped in suffocating guilt. This was my punishment.

ººº

"…and then Tune was all like, that is improper and then and then…"

I continued to listen to Chatta, who was excitedly bouncing on the springy couch, go on and on about her days in kindergarten with bright grin as the TV droned on and on with news.

Two months had passed since I last had contact with Riven or Musa. I couldn't bring myself to meet either of them. Or rather, I didn't deserve to see either of them.

Ever since Musa left, on my work free days, I found myself coming back to listen and play with Chatta more frequently. Listening to her let me escape from my troubles for a limited amount of time.

"…and then Digit explained the ratios of that, but I don't get ratios. Do you?"

"…"

"Flora?"

My blank expression jolted into animation as I apologetically smiled. "What? Sorry, my mind was somewhere else for a second. What were you saying Chatta?"

"Ratios. I don't get them," she quickly replied with ease. "What were you thinking about?" Chatta curiously probed for answers with an eager countenance.

"Oh, nothing really."

"_Star news! Star news! We have all the latest gossip about your favorite stars," _the TV chanted as a blonde man dressed in a deep lavender designer suit appeared in the screen _"I am Cassandra and recently the biggest news it that the Specialists are back from their band tour. Yes girls, you may scream. After touring for a month and a half, the band is finally back home in Magix. Take a look at this following interview with the band members."_

The scene of the band members dressed in casual jeans and t-shirts appeared. They all seemed relaxed in their seats minus Timmy who always seemed to appear rather nervous in front of the screen. My heart skip a beat when the camera panned across Riven's face and a muffled greeting came from his mouth.

Chatta exploded into a fit of giggles and then mischievously grinned as she whispered, "Isn't that the Mwah Mwah Mwah Guy?"

My cheeks instantly flushed as my eyes widened with shock at the sound of his name, but I quickly tried to cover up my shaken up appearance. "Umm…let's just watch shall we?"

The interviewer proceeded to ask the guys a plethora of question, probing them with questions about their private life in a sly manner. _"Riven, we've heard from certain sources that you might be going out with Darcy of the Trix…"_

My muscles tensed and the TV stole my gaze as I stared at it, holding on to Riven's every word.

"_What kind of bullshit is that?" _

"_So I take it that you two aren't seeing each other?"_

"_Of course not."_

The girls on the set cheered like crazy.

The wave of relief that rushed over was greater than I thought. I still liked Riven after two months even though we never met. When I thought of meeting Riven, sometimes images of an angry Riven—or even worse, a stoic Riven—flashed through my mind.

"_Helia," _the interview began, _"Fans say your singing has gotten heavier with emotion recently. Some have this theory that it is because you are having girl troubles"_

Even though Helia's smile was warm, it somehow managed to sting my heart. _"I'm afraid it was unrequited love." _The sound of deafening squeals erupted on the set.

My visage soften. The mention of Helia brought back the memory of his confession. The night before the band left on the tour two months ago, he invited me out for some dinner, and during a walk in the park, he romantically confessed with a bouquet of red roses. I remembered the swelling of my guilt in my chest as I rejected him with trembling limbs and the hopeful expression on his face plummeted.

"I see," he replied with a pained face and forced smile, the taste of bitterness tinting his tone. I apologized repeatedly, tears pooling at my eyes, and each time he would assure me that he was completely fine, but I knew that he couldn't be fine. No one is fine after being rejected.

"Sorry Helia. I'm so sorry. You're a great guy. You're a prince that girls dream about, but…" My eyes fell to the ground as meeting Helia eyes became a difficult task.

"You don't have to apologize. Your feelings are yours, and you have the right to them. It's not your fault. But I do wish that I had been the one you could have switched bodies with instead of Riven," he chuckled.

"…Helia..."

His laughter paused as his smile faded. "Sorry, that isn't funny, right?"

I remained silent, not knowing how to reply. I didn't deserve Helia's confession or his affections. Someone rotten like me couldn't bear to meet the eyes of an audacious individual.

"You're in love with Riven," he announced suddenly.

I swallowed hard. Then after a period of silence, I whispered, "Yes."

I didn't have to look up to know that another painful smile fell on Helia's lips. I heard him choke out forced, breathless words. "I knew it. I sure fell for a weird girl. You know, that guy doesn't have single nerve of romance in his body."

"I know," I whispered.

We continued our walk through our park until Helia drove my back to the apartment and departed with one last statement, "If he ever hurts you, just tell me. I might knock some sense into him. You know, it doesn't look like it, but I can bench press weight than that guy."

I grew nervous. "D-Don't do that. Both you and Riven was too nice to me…too nice." My eyes fluttered up to check his reaction, but he was already gone. The next day, the band left Magix for their tour, so I hadn't seen Helia since then.

"Flora?" Chatta's perky voice pulled me back to reality.

"Oh sorry. I was thinking," I apologized.

"About what? The Mwah Mwah Mwah Guy?" she sullenly grumbled with crossed arms before she blew up in frustration, beating a nonexistent wall infront of her.

I sighed. "No. I was thinking about his friend."

"Which friend?"

"The long haired guy you just saw on TV."

Displeased, Chatta frown and demanded for more answered. "Why?"

I cracked a biter smile. "Because I hurt him."

Confused, Chatta cocked her head to the side.

My cell abruptly rang. I flipped open my cell to be greeted by a sunny text message.

_Hey girl! Brunch date at the Fruitti Music Bar? Cause you know that brunch is the best meal of the day. – Stella_

That text earned a giggle from me. "Looks like I have to go," I said, flipping my cell shut after replying.

"Awww…already?"

"Sorry. I promise I'll visit you again soon."

"Make sure to bring Mwah Mwah Mwah Guy too!" I tried my best to hide the scarlet blush on my cheeks by frantically diverting my eyes to the oh-so-interesting sky.

After giving Chatta hug, saying farewell to her beloved mom, I set off for lunch, but not before tasting a spoonful of Chatta's mother's amazing gumbo. When I asked for the recipe, she happily copied it down along with eight other recipes.

But those recipes were useless for now. With both Riven and Musa gone, I had no one to cook for.

Twenty minutes later, I was seated across from Stella, spearing a wad of sundried tomato salad as Stella verbally attacked me.

"Please, please, please, please, please, please, PLEASE!"

"Stella, I told you I can't model." I chewed on a piece of lettuce as Stella launched into another tantrum.

"_Pleeeeeeeeease_," she whined with a bounce to her voice's tune.

"Sorry dear, but dragging on vowel won't change anything."

Stella continued to drag on that one vowel, and I was starting to grow embarrassed at all the heads in the Frutti Music Bar turning to shoot glares of curiosity at me. My eyes started to frantically dart to the corners of the table till they finally settled on Stella.

"C-Calm down…please? Ummm…people are looking."

"So you'll be a model?"

I sighed. "I told you I can't. Besides, I'm sure I would disappoint you," I argued with a jaded huff. Accepting Stella's offer to lunch was a mistake if she was going to harass me the whole time.

"How do you know that you will disappoint me?"

"I will."

"How?"

"I just know I will," I sharply insisted, crossing my arms defiantly. "I'll be too shy infront of the camera…"

She wagged her index finger at me mockingly. "You never know till you try," she pointed out.

"I'm scared to try and find out. I scared to take the risk. I'm scared to take the chance."

Her eyes darkened at her remark, her defiantly crossed arms grew more pronounce before she finally exploded in frustration. She waved her fist back and force like propellers. "This is pissing me off! Can I hit you once—just once—pretty please? Pretty, _pretty __**please?**_" she pleaded.

"S-S-Stella? I-I-I-I-I—Stella, calm down," I tentatively said, trying my best to appease, but I couldn't stop the fear form emanating.

"I will!" she announced with cheer, beaming with pride. "…If you listen to my solution to your annoying problem!"

My eyes lit up enthusiastically. "Really?"

"Yep! And it's easier than jean shopping. All you have to do is…" Then her finger suddenly shot out and pointed its tip at my forehead as if it were going to pierce the skin. "Stop thinking," she demanded.

Moments of silence crawled past us till I finally said, "Huh?"

"Thought."

Then she flicked me. Really hard. A dizzy pain throbbed from my head as I rubbed my forehead. I shot Stella an annoyed glance. "Ow. What was that for?"

"I was trying to stop you from thinking. Shy people think too much, but do nothing. You need to be more like me. Act more. Think less. Anyways, so, will you model for my collection now?"

I stared at the vibrant woman, her radiating figure sending out waves of determination meant to weaken my resolve. "Fine," I decided with a heavy sigh. "You win."

Her hazel eyes twinkling in glee, Stella performed a little victory dance before finally settling back down into her seat after I pleaded for her too. As she slurped her raspberry lemonade, she casually threw in a question that shook me from head to toe.

"So what's going on with you and Riven?"

My jaw tightly clenched as I wondered why the whole world reminded me of him during every passing moment. "What about us?" I whispered.

"Weren't you super close to him before? I mean I used to always see you two together like two peas in a pod when you guys were body switched. Did something happen?"

"N-No…nothing happened really. I just realized how I didn't deserve him."

Swatting the air, Stella scrunched up her lips and then pinched her nose like a clothing pin. "Ewww…you reek of pessimism."

I frowned. "It's just the truth. I'm selfish. I…I lied to my best friend and betrayed her because of jealousy. Isn't that incredibly selfish of me?"

"Dear Flora. You're the most endearingly innocent, kind, hopelessly blinded woman I have ever. Haven't you ever heard the saying the humans are flawed? Psh! Even I know it."

Stella was right, but knowing that it was right didn't make things anymore easier.

She calmly let out a heavy breath and rested her eyes for a second or two before they shot open with solemn glare shooting into me and easily penetrated my mind. I felt incredibly raw as Stella met my eyes, so I quickly glanced away. "I can see right through you. You won't face your problems because you don't want to lose their relationships, right? Flora, are you going to continue letting your fears dictate you and eventully regret not taking any action?"

"N-No?"

"Don't you think what you are doing is wrong?"

"I-I….I know that it's wrong!" I blurted, "But….but…I'm scared. I scared to know what would happen if I did face the problem and decide which relationship to throw. I'm scared. I'm so scared that my body seems to freeze up ever single time I go close to Riven or Musa. I try but I fail, so I try harder, but nothing seems to change."

Stella get out a heavy breath and languidly leaned back. "You know, the guy annoys the hell out of me, I kind of feel somewhat sorry for him….…Woah. I think I'm actually saying something really respectable. I'm such a smartie," she cheered as sh returned to her vivacious self and gave me a patronizing pat on the head. "Anyways, maybe there is a way to conquer that fear of yours." She pondered the answer to the predicament for a while before lighting up in glee, arms flailing and eyes sparkling. "I know! I know!"

"Yes?"

"You need a battle outfit!"

"A battle outfit?" Then I realized what you meant. I immediately froze. "N-N-Noo…No Stella. No. No more shopping."

"Come on," she whined. "You need an outfit that will give you courage when you go out to battle."

"Stella, sorry dear, but I am not going to shop with you."

The last time I shopped with her, I ended up carrying all of the bags while Stella insisted on staying at the mall from morning till closing. Arguing against her proved worthless. That sad day, I learned that Stella turned pig-headed when it came to fashion.

"Oh come on."

My brows suddenly rose. "Wait…How do you know everything going on between me and Riven anyways?"

"Girl, I have my sources." I frowned, knowing fully well that her only source must be Brandon. "Besides girl, you are transparent like glass. Anyone can see through you. Or maybe I'm just too brilliant for my own good. Hahahahaha!"

"Sorry."

Stella swiftly flicked my forehead again, and I felt my shoulder rise up and my body cringe at the pain.

"Stop saying sorry. Seriously," she angrily huffed. "Every time you apologize, you are shrinking your already nonexistent self-confidence." Her eyes flickered to her watch then her mouth opened into a gasp. "Woah! It's late! I have a meeting too." She frantically grabbed up her purse and coat before dramatically flipping her golden hair over her shoulder. "Remember that the shoot is tomorrow at the Solaria hotel garden. If you don't come, I'll track you down. Don't underestimate the power of cameras?"

"Security cameras?"

"No. Photography cameras." Then she called out before scurrying away, "Bye! See you tomorrow darling!"

ººº

With my fresh determination, I set off to face Riven, but I hadn't known what was at the end of that fifteen minute drive. At first I dilly dallied in front of that doorbell, planning what I was going to say to him when the door opened. Then I caught a glimpse of a scene through a crack in the blinds.

Something burned in my throat as I spotted Darcy with Riven. I felt my previously firmly rooted resolution to face Riven face-on weakened.

As I watched Darcy lean forward and plant her lips on Riven, the familiar feeling of jealousy burned in my heart and I crumbled back into my insecurities. I was so scared of the detestable feeling that I ran—ran until the image faded into pure black when my eyelids closed.

Riven wasn't waiting for me. He had moved on, and I was the idiot who had trusted him to wait. My fists tightened as I considered the alternate reality if I had taken action earlier and hadn't kept Riven waiting for so long. Perhaps then I wouldn't have lost him in such a regretful manner.

* * *

_I thought that it was about time that I posted up a new chapter. It's been a long wait...and I have an excuse called school. Then again, if I had enough time to watch twenty hours of City Hunter, I should have posted this up a long time ago. Guilty has charged._

_Renachi_


	28. Empty

_Disclaimer: This is getting repetitive. No more disclaimers after this chapter. It is obvious that a Winx Club fanfiction would contain characters belonging to Straffi. Who am I kidding? If I get sued by him, a disclaimer won't protect me._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT—EMPTY**

I had the pleasure of meeting Darcy in front of his door on one, foul morning.

"Hello Riven," she drawled, a cunning smile etched crossed her face.

"How did you get my address?"

"That's a secret," she said. "Am I here at the wrong time?"

I shrugged. With all the pandering she had offered me recently to no avail, I shouldn't have been surprised.

When Flora left, she left everything in the house the way it was when she was living in it. The flowers still bloomed, the refrigerator fill with groceries, and even Riven Jr. was left in my care. My friggin home reminded me of her.

_Why did I let her influence me?...No. Why did I even care?_

As time dragged on, I found out that I needed someone or something. Having someone around helped me forget about Flora.

Two months passed without Flora. Two empty months filled with hours of waiting, pondering, and boredom. Somewhere along the way, I had almost given up on Flora, almost accepting that fact that she had ditched me, abandoned me just like feared. I almost broke the promise, but then at the last moment, I realized I couldn't

I knew it wouldn't be hard to go meet the woman that always hounded my thoughts every since she left my side. I knew her address, workplace, phone number, everything. I knew everything about her, yet I also knew that I couldn't see her. It was all because of some vexing promise.

I didn't think it would be this hard. When I wanted to see her, I couldn't even if she was only a ten minute drive away. I lost freedom.

I shouldn't have agreed the promise. Why did I? Oh yea. I agreed because of the genuine expression she showed when she pleaded for me to trust her.

All of my pain came down to my trust

Flora, that woman stood out. She managed to slip past my barriers and worm her way into my heart, taking root in my emotions. Sometimes I would try to make her out to be a despicable individual similar to my mother, but every single time I would fail. And then I would remember that she was hurting too. By then I'd give in.

_Why did I have to be so…nice?_

"I hope I'm not unwelcomed. I'm not…right?" Darcy snapped me out of my thoughts. A deceiving, vulnerable look fell on her face.

"Come in."

The grin on her face grew as she invited herself into the house. I didn't fool around and cut straight to the chase. "Why are you here?" My demand was solid and I watched as the pleased look on her face plummet.

"It's obvious."

"Oh really?"

"Her lithe figure pushed forward into my chest as her slender arms wrapped around me. She seductively fingered the stubble on my chin and mewled. I felt my nerves shudder for a second. "Now do you know?"

My eyebrows scrunched together as I replied in a confused tone. "You need body heat?" I sarcastically spat.

"So slow," she purred as her sultry eyes shifted and pierced into mine, suddenly freezing me on my spot as her cold lips pushed onto mine.

I wasn't expecting the lack of feeling of her lips. No emotion swelled within him other than the heightening of sense. No sparks emitted and he felt nothing, just the raw touch of flesh on his lips.

I couldn't feel anything.

When she released, she asked again, "How about now?" Then her faced plummeted into precarious anger. "Don't tell me you forgot that deep, tongue-twirling kiss we shared. You were taking too long to come to me so I came to you."

"I see."

She grinned like a Cheshire Cat. "But I didn't think you would be a shy boy."

My eyes narrowed at Darcy, studying her. Everything about Darcy screamed sexy and would ignite any man's feral instincts. Had the experience of living in a woman's body nullified my sexuality? Or was the cause the flooding of Flora in my mind?

_Good job Flora. You've destroyed every other woman for me._

"Riven?"

I stepped away from Darcy knowing that I should have resolved this issue long time ago. "Leave," I ordered without a slight inflection to my voice.

"What?" she asked for confirmation, confused. "Leave?"

"Do you not understand what leave means?" My voice was cold and obsolete as my mind drifted off into another memory of Flora.

Her confusion had finally faded into incredulity. "Are you kicking me out?"

"Precisely. I'm not in the mood to hear you scre—"

Her expression grew malicious as her hand hardened into tight fists along with every single muscle in her being. "You pathetic—"

"I don't need you to tell me my faults when I know them myself very well."

I was pathetic for falling into some puppy dog depression over a mere girl that I only knew for a hundred days. What was the world coming to if I, Riven, was demoted to a puppy dog status?

"You—"

"You need someone to show you to the door?"

"No I—"

"The door is just two steps from your left." I _generously_ opened the door for her, but she refused to move an inch and instead, she decided to stare me down with a cruel glare.

"You'll regret throwing away a chance like this," she said, her statement sounding close to a threat.

I shrugged with nonchalance. "Maybe, but don't we all make mistakes that we regret. Now leave."

Her head held up with dignity, Darcy finally strode out of the doorway but not without throwing one last prideful glance at me and landing another heavy slap that left a red imprint.

_This woman just loves slapping me no matter what body I happen to be in._

"I don't like the tone of your voice. Reminds me of that _girl_," she spat before she left.

I happily bid farewell to her with a mocking sneer as I finally realized her intentions.

"If you think you can manipulate me that easily, try again you damn woman!" I shouted before slamming the door shut. I felt mortified. Were all men really that helpless in front of seduction?

_Sex should go to hell._

A purr sounded below me and I looked down to see the sight of Riven Jr. rubbing up against me.

"Where were you this whole time?"

The cat purred again innocently.

"You run away when the monster comes, yet you have the audacity to come back," he snorted.

I watch as the cat proceeded to rub up against my leg . Then he opened his eyes, stared firmly, and then elicited another meow.

"What? You miss mommy too?"

The ivory kitten kept purring and rubbing up against my leg as I let out my breath then froze at a sudden realization. _Mommy_? What had become of the Great Riven who's name gave pubescent boys nightmares on their birthday night?

I rolled my eyes and gathered up the cat.

"Why did she name you after me?" I muttered to cat who, in response, purred back happily. Then I shook my head, pitying myself as I started away from the affectionate kitten. "I must be going crazy if I'm talking to a cat. Riven, you've digressed." I sighed.

ººº

I glanced up at the golden lettering reading _Hotel Solaria. _I grumbled as I entered through the rotating door and made my way towards the garden colored with lavender flowers.

If I had to pick the worst part of being a celebrity other than the lack of privacy, fangirls, and the fact that you become a brand, it would be the modeling. There's something disgusting about having a camera flash loudly while you pose like a wannabe while being fully aware that each picture may be sold to a rabid teenage girl who may then proceed to tack it on the wall and—shudder—kiss it daily. But work was work. There was no way to get out of it. To my chagrin, it turned out that I was a natural in front of the camera. Apparently, fans loved my "I don't give a damn" poses. So my bad modeling supposedly endorsed my devilish image. Sometimes it seemed like the less I cared, the better I did.

This time I was hired by Stella to model for her spring collection. I had yet to meet the other female model partnered up with me, but I didn't worry too much about the issue. Stella was fully aware of the types of people who meshed well with me, so female (and male) models who would explicitly lose their sanity after meeting me obviously received the ax.

So I thought I wasn't going to be surprised.

But the contrary occurred.

At first, I thought the female model was a goddess. I struggled to process thoughts but my mind was frozen. Brazenly staring like a little child, I felt my gut jitter and my heart clench as violet eyes met bewildered verdant ones. Suddenly tears started to trickled down the goddess's softly tanned cheeks. At that instant, I recognized who she was.

_Flora?_

* * *

_So I thought it was about time that I update this story. I wrote this month ago, but I couldn't help but procrastinate the upload date because I was unsatisfied. I'm still unsatisfied. Since we're nearing the finale, expect this story should be updated more often. I want to wrap up this story soon._

_As usual, I hope I managed to enlighten or entertain you! And as always, if you find errors-and I know there are lots-tell me. Critique is always welcomed. _

_Renachi _


	29. Resolution

**CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE – RESOLUTION**

"Why is she crying?" a frantic voice yelled.

Who was crying me? Me? I felt warm drops of water plopped onto the back of my hand resting on my lap. It was me.

"PMS?" a nonchalant voice of the photographer casually suggested.

"What do we do?" the guy dressed in dull lavender squawked as he ran started to dance with a mad frenzy. "She's crying!"

"Shut up Pepe! I know that's she's crying! Why is my staff so inept?" Stella snapped with frustration before she turned to me with wary gentleness. "F-Flora? Uh…Shhh….." she comforted, though her voice sounded more stern than gentle due to the anxiety.

"She's not a baby," the photographer casually remarked.

Then her eyes suddenly brightened. "Take pictures!"

"But she's cry—" the frantic voice of a staff member cried.

"Now!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

Gratuitous tears slid down my cheeks, waves of unnerving nostalgia hitting me directly in the chest while Riven violet eyes fixed on me. I was locked in a firm gaze with him. We both waited to see who would tear away first. I did. With a swift motion, my eyes diverted.

Stella face immediately brightened at the sight of Riven as she scurried over to the garden's stone to meet him. "What are you waiting for? Hello? Change! Quickly! Now!" she yelled in a frenzy. Then she forcefully pushed Riven into another section of the garden.

Right then I realized that Stella purposely arranged the meeting. I should have known that her plea to model for her wasn't innocent like she claimed. She tricked me.

Flash.

Eyes sharply cringing, I suddenly became fully aware of the flashing camera blinding my eyesight. Frowning, the young photographer brushed a lock of his cropped baby blue hair from his vision and stood back to ponder.

"Spring…goddess…Persephone…Persephone…spring…spring…ah…spring," he mumbled, rustling his brightly dyed blue hair, before meeting my eye contact. "Hey, you're a florist right? So you like flowers?"

I froze, unsure of the motive behind his question. "Yes?"

"Can you name all the flowers in this garden for me?"

I glanced at the blossoming flowers surrounding me and formed a room with the stone arc as the only exit. I easily could identify each blossoming flower, so even though I was still dubious about the photographer intentions, I replied, "All right..."

"Good. Then start over there at the top right corner," he coolly ordered while messing with the tripod stand and adjusting the lenses of his camera.

I did just as he ordered and starting describing each flower, gentling fondling their heads and taking a whiff of their fragrance while I was at it while the photographer continued to snap shots. A gentle warmth spread through my body as I happily named off the flowers underneath the gently glowing spring sun, and by the time I got to the other corner of the garden, I could feel mirth spilling out of my words. In fact, I was so absorbed in naming the flowers that I hadn't really noticed the click of camera's shutter or the other conversation playing the background.

"Good job. Finally you loosened up," he unceremoniously announced with dry humor.

I stared blankly in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You weren't enjoying yourself," he continued to explain. "A gloomy Persephone in the budding season of spring doesn't fit, which is why I got you to do something you enjoyed."

Realization dawned on me. "Oh, I see."

"You finished yet Kiko?" The photographer turned to the arc to see Stella call out his name. "It's time for the Hades-Persephone portion of the shoot."

"What portion? I was only paid to capture Persephone," Kiko drawled, as if he were jaded and stagnant, and lowered his gray eyes to show his annoyance.

"I'll give you a carrot."

"No."

"Carrot _cake?"_

"…"

"Carrot _cake_ with carrot _cookies_ and carrot _milk_?"

"...Fine."

Stella heaved a long sigh and then teased Kiko with a mocking smirk. "Aww…Very easy to bribe as always. Very cute."

"Oh shut it," he spat in reply. "Where is the male model anyways?"

"He should be coming," she informed as she checked her watch for a brief moment before lighting up in glee. "Oh look. There is our sweet Hades."

I trailed Stella gaze and spotted the death god clad in drapes of pure black dragging his feet through the arc way. He threw me a quick glance with his piercing eyes but quickly glanced away.

"Ooo! Our Hades is sooo cute," Stella cooed much to Riven's chagrin who scowled.

Pepe rushed through the entrance with links and links of chains hanging from his cradling arms, then he raised his arms in the air and loudly announced that he brought the chains with the same tone.

"Thank you." She then gestured for me and Riven to put on the chains.

"Y-You're adorning us with chains?" I stumbled with my words as I tenderly picked up one of the chains.

"Wrong. I'm not adorning you two. I'm connecting you two. The concept is that Persephone can't escape Hades and is eternally bond to him by the chains of fate. Romantic right?" she swooned.

"Not really. More like sadistic," Riven scoffed.

"Shut up. It's romantic," Stella sharply interjected and then she added with a cunning smirk, "And the concept is similar to your current separated relationship isn't it? Even though you two live in completely different worlds, you two are fated to meet again on this very—PFT!"

Riven hand flew to her mouth and muffled Stella who squealed like a mad pig. When he took off his hand he casually said, "Oh sorry. There was a fly on your mouth. It was bugging me."

"Fly?" She quickly boomed.

"Let's get on with this shoot already," Kiko said, scratching the back of his head. "I want to eat my carrot cake."

The staff proceeded to fasten the chains on us, my end of the chain connected to my delicate ankle, and Riven's end of the end connected to his neck like a choker. We then followed Stella's every order, posing as lovers much to my embarrassment. I worried on whether Riven could feel the rapid beat of my heart we Stella ordered us to conjoin our hands and stare deep into each other eyes. I was surprised by the touch of his skin. I hadn't expected his hand to be so warm.

"Arch you back a li—Yes! And then…"

My heart almost exploded from my heart as I swallowed hard. When my nerves couldn't take it no more, I broke our locked gazes, completely flushed. "Um…"

"Persephone, please relax," Kiko pointed out after another click of the camera.

I sullenly pouted and turned away, meeting Riven's eyes which was only inches from mine, experiencing the loud flutter of my heart, and falling backwards. I gasped when I felt an arm wrap around my waist.

"You two are learning quickly," she enthusiastically commented with a cheerful applaud.

At the end of the shoot, even after all the bodily contact, a shiver ran up my sensitive spine when Riven touched the small of my back. "Don't run away," he breathed in my ear. I felt a chill run down my spine. I had almost forgotten the touch of his breath on skin.

ººº

After dressing down, I patiently waited in the lobby. In the meantime, I filled up the time with watching the guests check into their room, meet up with friends, or pass through. At the back of my mind, I noted to keep an eye out for a figure with a hidden face just in case Riven was disguised.

I played with the words I would tell me once he arrived. What exactly could I say to someone who I intentionally avoided for months? Nice to meet you again? How are you doing? How's the weather? How is it like to be a man…again?

Truth be told, I wanted to sneak away and continue avoiding Riven like a plague. That scenario was more appealing than one full of awkward silence filled with tension. Anything was more appealing than the idea of confrontation. But running from the problem wasn't the right decision. I had chosen to run away so many times before that by now, I had learned that while running away was easy, it never solved any problems. It just delayed it and allowed the problem to grow more pregnant until it exploded in my face.

When I finally saw Riven, undisguised in regular jeans, I scurried over to him, and messily spilled out the contents of everything that was occupying my mind, "Sorry, just now was business and I didn't know you were going to be there, but didn't mean to make things awkward, so I just disappear and then everything can return to nor—"

"What kind of crap are you spewing?"

I narrowed my eyes and frown, more confused than angry. "Pardon?"

"You didn't contact me for months, so I thought you either forgot about me completely, or ran away. So which one is it?" There wasn't any malice in his tone or countenance, but I could feel the waves of apprehension radiating from his being, pushing me into defiance.

"Neither. I…I just—procrastinated?"

His brows furrowed. "Procrastinated?" His tone began to rise. "You've kept me at a distance for one month, told me that we were on some kind of break till you got your issues sorted out, and then tell me that you…_procrastinated_." He said the last word with a bitter taste on his tongue. "Are you sure you did not forget."

"No. I didn't forget. How could I when I'm in such an emotional mess," I weakly replied, curling my fingers into a tight fist that whitened my knuckles. "Aren't you the one who moved on? I saw you with Darcy." My voice trembled as the threat of tears stung me eyes and my body burned from overwhelming emotion.

He furrowed his brows with a frustrated scowl. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I went to your house yesterday to see if I could face you head on, but then I saw you and Darcy…k-kissing through the window."

Realization dawned on his face. "Screw it. So that's what you mean," he replied with relief and a slight shrug, spawning frustration from me.

Tears started slipping out as my vision grew watery and blurred Riven's expression of vexing indifference. "I-I know it's my fault for making you wait, but—"

"You're misunderstanding. Don't group me with that stupid ex of yours," he huffed. "I've long outgrew the cassanova stage."

"But then what about Darcy? The other day I went to see you, and you two were kissing," I accuse.

"I don't know how she got my address, but one day, she just appeared on my door step and surprised me. If it makes you feel better, I kicked her out right after she zoomed in and kissed me out of the blue."

"…Really?"

"Well I was at a weak mental state so I kind of lost myself for a second but—"

"Riven," I sternly said.

"Do I look like I'm lying?"

"No."

"Then I'm not lying." He sighed. "Why don't you think of the kissing scene positively like you usually do?"

"Positively?" I pondered with a finger propped underneath my lower lip. "I guess you could say it's an experience we have a common?" I said in an unconvincing voice. "That's a very odd thing to have in common. To think that we kissed the same person." I felt like shivering at the thought.

He chuckled. "You're probably the only person I know who could think that way," he replied in incredulity before his eyebrows rose. "So are you still mad?"

"…Just a little."

He heaved a sigh. "Would punching me help?"

I narrowed my eyes in bewilderment. "Are you serious?"

"I'm serious. This is the only time I'm going to allow you to touch this face though so you better take advantage of it. Besides, you're punches can't be that bad since you're a gi—"

Suddenly fist connected with cheek and vibrated Riven's jaw as his head turned. The explosive sensation released my all my frustration at once and left me feeling satisfied. So this was how it felt to punch someone. It felt strangely…good.

"Ya made ma bigh ma lib!" Riven sent me a cold glare, sullenly rubbing his cheek. "Ah tink ya gave ma a buise."

"You said to take advantage of the opportunity," I innocently replied, a mischievous glint in my eyes from satisfaction. Revenge certainly was sweet.

"I should have known that there is a devil behind that mask of yours."

I frowned.

"Ah almast fagot. Here." Riven dug through his pockets for a few seconds before his hand emerged with a thin ticket.

"What's this?"

"It's tha last stap fah our warld taur." His hand started to draw back into his pocket. "Buht if ya cawn't come…"

"Oh no. I can go." I swiftly took the ticket and warmly smiled at the simple look of happiness in Riven's face. Sometimes he could be so transparent. Then an idea struck me. "S-Say Riven…I have a favor to ask."

He groaned.

"Just hear me out please... I want to tell you that I'm going to settle all this nonsense that I've dragged out." Riven nodded in agreement for a while. "I want to go to this concert, but if I don't settle all of my problems with Musa by tomorrow, then…I might not go."

Then a frown fell on Riven's guise. "There's a limit to ma tolerenst."

"I'm sorry…"

His irked frown fell from his face and was replaced with a smirk. "You betta…but I'll let ya off fah once."

"Good thing I can speak bitten tongue," I said, grinning from ear to ear. I felt more confident with Riven's support. Things were going more smoothly than I thought. If everything could have been resolved these easily, why didn't I do it earlier on?

Riven just snorted. "Ah betta go," Riven said, jabbing his thumb at the direction of the gardens.

"See you." The words easily fell from my lips even though they hold so much meaning. By saying "see you", I was making a promise…another one.

_Now, how do I go about this?_

Suddenly my ringtone sounded, and with a prompt flip, I instantly engaged in a conversation with my mom.

"Flora," the voice on the other line merrily greeted. "Mind to pay your mom a quick visit while your father, grandmother, and sister are out?"

The sound of her voice brought a smile to my face. "Mom. I'll be there in a few minutes." I paused for a second, considering an option that just flew into my mind. "By the way, can I ask you for a favor?"

ººº

When I was in sixteen, during a round of hardcore Truth or Dare at a sleepover at my house, Musa asked me the one question that can never be

"Flora," Musa dramatically paused, "What's your greatest fear?"

I pondered on the question. I didn't know how to answer. What was my greatest fear? Death? No. The dark? No. Bugs? Of course not. "Umm…pass?"

"No. No passing," Musa replied with a mischievous smirk.

So I replied, "Loosing you guys as friends."

They looked at me with wide eyes and gaping mouths, as if I had laid an egg. Then they pounced on me with affection.

"We love you too Flora. We have such a great friend."

At that moment, I involuntarily blushed and accepted their compliments, but later one I wondered if I was really a great friend. I started wondering the reason for my fear. I dug for answers, and the deeper I went, the more I realized how deceiving I was. It was a selfish reason I didn't want to hurt friends to protect myself from guilt and loneliness. I just didn't want to ever feel bad.

I was no great friend.

My noble fear turned out to be a detestable—loneliness.

When I saw my flaws, I hastily covered them up because I knew I wasn't purely beautiful on unlike the sweet personality I exhibited on the outside. I had fears; I had selfishness; I had malice. So to make up for my shortcomings, I acted, nicer, sweeter, stronger…_better._ But no matter what I did, I knew that I would always be flawed. And I _hated_ it. Then one day, during a discussion about humanity in class, an interesting proposition rose. Humans grow stronger as they grow up and gather more experience.

I left my trouble to time, thinking that time would allow the mask on my face to mold my insides into believing the lie. Never happened. The more time I spent with Riven, the more I found myself turning into someone more aggressive but free. I uncovered an overwhelming amount of exhaustion from forcing myself to act like a gentle, altruistic maiden, the ones in fairytales. So, I freed myself. Or at least I tried to.

Snip. Snap. _Shack._

Locks of my golden brown hair fluttered down to the ground.

"It's the first time you've asked for a pixie haircut," she remarked as she gazed into the bathroom mirror before cutting off more hair. "The last time I cut your hair was when you were eleven."

"But you're still good at cutting. You should work again," I suggested as I straightened my neck when my mom told me to.

A nostalgic smile fell upon her face. "I'm not a professional hairdresser anymore. I'm a mom."

I pursed my lips. "It's such a waste though."

"I've retired and moved on with life. Now my job is to take care of your troublesome father, his mother, and your sister. Those three can't keep their hands out of trouble," she huffed before she lightly snipped the scissors and locks of golden brown hair fluttered to the ground. "So what's the occasion sweetie? Is it a date with that Raven?"

I felt a warm blush rise. "N-No." I paused and carefully selected my word. "I just wanted a change," I replied, unsure.

"For what?"

I frowned.

"What's wrong dear?"

I knew I couldn't hide my web of thoughts from my mom who always saw through me. I drew in a deep breath, trying to find the right word to begin with. "Musa and I got into a fight. I guess it isn't a fight as much as it is a misunderstanding…of sorts. But it's my fault and now we both are in some kind of weird love triangle thing and—"

"With that man named Raven?"

I nodded.

"You both are fighting over him?" She asked, bewildered. "I know he was nice, but his appearance was…"

"Just a bit over the top?"

"Exactly."

I playfully grinned. "You're disappointed right mom? You've always wanted one of those sweet looking, model son-in-laws who loves his wife dearly."

"I believe all mothers feel the same as I do," she said. "But if he loves and treats you well and you love him then there's nothing I can do. I can't say the same for your father though. But Raven seems polite and nice. We should get along."

I weakly grimaced. I wanted to tell her that the real Raven—no Riven was far from polite, but instead I avoided the subject and made a mental note to clear up the other lies later. "So, mom, what do you do when you lack confidence?"

"Confidence…confidence huh?" She sighed, and then snipped more hair off. "I remember the days when you used to ask me easy questions like how babies were born."

My face went red. "Mom!"

"Oh, I miss those days," she pensively sighed.

"I'm starting to miss them too. I think I used to be better when I was little. Now I'm cynical and weak. People tell me I'm kind and strong, but I wonder if that's true. Maybe that's just a fake pretense. "

Much to my confusion, my mom went silent and just concentrated on haircutting. My expression was shrouded in indifference. No. It was nostalgia.

"Flora, do you remember your mother's funeral?"

I ignored the painful twang in my chest. "Yes."

"You didn't shed a single tear. You just stared at your mother's casket as it went down, a chilling emptiness in your hollow eyes. Then you smiled gleefully. At first, I thought you were an abnormal child, and I was scared. But when I asked you why you smiled, your answer shocked me to the core. Flora, you said that you thought that your mom wouldn't like to be seen off with everyone crying. At the age of six, you already could grasp such a deep expression. But you were six, _only _six. A few seconds later, you broke down in tears."

"Really?" I replied in amazement.

"You did. So when you say that you doubt yourself, I can't help but feel disappointed. When you grow older and become an adult, that doesn't allow you to solve all your problems. Young people sometimes glorify adulthood for its independence. They think that once they transformed into an adult, they can easily make all the right decisions. But you know, we make tons of mistakes. We make wrong decisions, and fail, all because we refuse to depend on others. We refuse to accept advice because of our pride. That's why you are doing right now an amazing thing. Be proud, Flora. You are an amazing person, and even if you have flaws don't get down. After all, who's perfect? Our ugly sides make us human."

"Mom…"

"I hope that helped. Unlike your dad, your mom isn't much of a linguist."

I shook my head. "No," I refuted. "It helped me. Thank you mom. I'm glad I talked you about this."

"Hold still. I'm still cutting your hair." Her motherly smile reflected in the mirror as her hands smoothed out my freshly cut hair. "There, I'm done."

I grinned at the new person in the mirror. I fingered my golden fringe and ran a hand through my extremely light haircut.

"Oh, and Flora, let me tell you something about courage and confidence. Let people support you. They'll give you courage. They'll will give you drive."

Her words resonated within my mind.

Support—check.

Reason—check.

Ready to go to war—check.

ººº

Why I was in front Musa's temporary residence, Layla's apartment, at two in the morning? Well, my mind wouldn't relax. I couldn't fall asleep no matter how many times I turned my pillow, flipped pages of sappy romantic novels, and replayed Bob Marley songs. I hoped I wasn't turning nocturnal.

I managed to drag my hand towards the doorbell, the suspense overwhelming me flesh pressed against the button, and a ring sounded. The door didn't open immediately, and in that gap of time, I tried to think of what I was going to say to Musa word for word.

'_Um..Hi…it's your tree hugging friend. Hehe…it's been a long time hasn't it. First of all, you have every right to be mad. I won't make any excuses. I lied…because I was je-je-jealous. I mean…um yea—'_

My imagination crashed and burned.

'_I have something else I need to tell you. I want to be friends…but..but…'_

Weak. Pathetic.

I continued creating dialogue with my hyperactive imagination until I realized that at least five minutes had past. The door had not open. I hugged my chest to protect it from the chill and rang again.

Five more minutes passed.

I rang again.

Eight more minutes crept by at a turtle's pace.

Dread kept building up at every passing second.

Right when I had decided to head back home, the door creaked open and confidence fled. I quickly recalled the reason I had to confront Musa, and all the people supporting me. I had Stella's bravery, Chatta's cheer, my mom's words of wisdom, and Riven's hopes. I could do this.

"H-H-Hi Mu-Musa."

Or not.

"Flora? What the hell."

"H-Hey…"

She narrowed her eyes dangerously…maybe even murderously. "That's odd. I thought it was two in the morning?

"It is but I—"

"Goodbye." Then the door slammed shut.

_That went well,_ I bitterly thought.

I stood in front of the door, trying to decide on whether to ring the doorbell and leave. I chose the latter with hesitation. Once again, a haggard Musa appeared on the other side of the door.

"You're not going to give up are you?"

"Don't close the door again, please," I begged.

Musa rolled her eyes and stepped outside, closing the door behind her. She violently rubbed her exposed arms to protect them from the night chill.

"Are you cold?"

"I'm fine," she replied. "So, you mind explaining why you had to wake us up at two in the morning?"

"Us? Is Layla mad? Did I wake her up?" I worriedly asked.

"Of course not," Musa laughed. "She's still sleeping. You know that she sleeps like a baby whenever she sleeps with her doll."

"Piff?" I added.

"Yea. I don't know what she's going to do when she marries Na-" Musa froze, pursed her lip, and rested her eyes for a moment before she let out her breath as a puff of smoke. "Forget about all of that. Tell me what you are here for."

I swallowed. "I'm here to ask for forgiveness. I know I lied to you, and I regret it. I'm sorry. I didn't tell you the reason I lied because I was disgusted with myself. I like Riven…and so I didn't want you to take him away."

Musa grunted and shook her head. "I know all of this already."

"Really?"

She nodded. "You're like an open book Flora. I already knew that you liked Riven."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Then what are you still mad about?"

"I'm mad that you tricked me and didn't trust me. I shared everything with you, but when I found out it wasn't mutual…Look, just forget about it," she said in frustration as she struggled on what words to say.

"But, I don't accept this. I know what I did wrong…and I am sorry. We can't return to the way we were before? We can't be roommates anymore?"

She gave me a hard look. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

Disappointed, I frowned and lowered my head. "I understand...if you can't forgive me then punch me."

"Huh? Punch you? Is there something wrong with your brain Flora? Is this a side effect of the body switching?"

My head flew up and I gave her a long hard look. "I'm serious. Punch me right here on my cheek," I said as I pointed to my right cheek.

"You've gone crazy."

I frowned. "I thought it would relieve your grudge…it did for me when I punched Riven," I mumbled.

"You what? You punched Riven?" Musa looked incredulous as her mouth hung loosely.

"J-Just lightly…"

"Are you playing a joke on me?" Musa squinted her eyes at me and studied my closely. "Flora, you wouldn't hurt a fly."

I smirked. "I used to. I changed. So are you going to punch me yet…unless you forgive me…"

"Fine, since you are pretty much desperate. What are people who enjoy pain called again?

"Masochists?"

"Are you a masochist?"

I stayed silent. After all the trouble I created myself and pain I put myself through, after the day I had been though, I started to doubt myself. "I probably am."

* * *

_We're almost there. And I just passed the 100k mark. Aw...And I was trying so hard to stay under it. Oh, and yes. I turned the bunny and chick into humans. This is AU, remember?_

_Renachi_


	30. A New Chapter

**CHAPTER THIRTY – A NEW CHAPTER**

I had decided that I had enough of this bullshit.

I just wanted them to shut up.

Their outcries echoed throughout the auditorium like angry thunder. The audience was not satisfied. They still wanted to wring out every remaining note of music from us, and they wouldn't accept resistance.

As I heard a nearby girl scream, I wondered how Flora was reacting. Was she in shock? Was she yelling along with the rest? I wanted to pick her out from the sea of faces and see her reaction. Well, that's only if she was in the audience. I had asked her to come to the concert, but for all I knew, she could have been watering the plants on her balcony right now. The very thought of her turned into a gnawing sensation in my gut.

"What now?" Brandon managed to call to us over the deafening cries of the audience.

"It would be unreasonable to perform under these conditions," Timmy yelled back in his strained voice. "Sky would understand."

I frowned and turned to Helia who stood still in front of the mic with his back to me. "Helia!" He ignored me. "Helia!" I yelled even louder. No answer. "Helia! What happened? Did you forget your friggin hearing aid at home?"

Helia whipped his head around after my last comment, sending me a cold stare.

"Well, you weren't responding." I shrugged. "Anyways, work your magic and calm the crowd down. That's what you're good at right?"

"Nothing I saw will even get through to them," he explained.

I sat in stillness. Then suddenly I stood up from my drum set and headed towards the exit at the side of the stage.

"What are you doing?" Timmy shouted, alarmed.

"I'm leaving." I glance back at the band, waiting. "Are you guys going to stay up here all night? It's not like we can perform anymore."

Heaving a long sigh, Helia followed my lead and so did Brandon and Timmy. After we entered the dimly lit backstage filled with frenzy, the backstage crew tried to attack us with questions. They hadn't heard of the news beforehand and were completely surprised just like the audience. We somehow managed evade the mod and arrive at our room.

Shaken, Timmy started to doubt himself. "Maybe we should have delayed our final world tour and announced the news that the band was breaking up at the end of this year."

"Would it have made a difference?" Brandon wondered. "We sure were really good at our jobs. Now the fans won't even let us quit."

"Who knew we would be so good at being…products." I shuddered.

"Don't say that. We are—we were performers," Brandon corrected.

"Performers that have become a sock brand sold to Chihuahuas," I pointed out.

"Oh well. It was fun, this band thing I mean."

My eyebrow rose. "Fun because you were finally popular with the women?"

"What are you talking about? I was always popular with the women." Brandon rolled his eyes while displaying an annoyed frown. "Wouldn't that line apply to you, Riven?" Brandon mocked. "You loved it when fan girls threw themselves at you for the first time in your life."

I scoffed. "Even before I was a celebrity, I had fan girls who threw themselves at me."

"Flora would be so furious if she heard you say that…Flora…that sweet girl…angry…dude, that's scary." Brandon cracked a grin.

My glare darkened. "Don't bring Flora into this."

"Oh, but I just did," he pointed out.

"Whatever," I lightly said, trying not to let his comment rankle me.

"Just admit that you just jizzed your pants at the thought of Flora leaving you."

"Am not," I growled.

"You are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"AM NOT!"

"ARE TOO!"

"AM NOT TIMES INFINITY!"

"ARE TOO TIMES INFINITY PLUS ONE!"

"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

"OH BUT I JUST DID! OH! TAKE THAT!"

"YOU—"

"I politely ask the two of you to SHUT UP," Helia interjected. He sported a annoyed wrinkle between his brows that seemed to deeply engraved that it could have been permanent.

"Riven started it," Brandon said in defense.

"Who cares," Helia said.

"When will the two of you grow up?" Timmy smartly added. "Petulant preschoolers."

Brandon and I dangerously glared at Timmy. "SHUT UP," Brandon and I barked in union.

"W-What? But I—"

"Quiet!" Helia demanded. "This is our last night together as a group so just get along for a few more hours," He shook his head like a reproaching mother before turning to me with this heavy, reticent glance. "By the way, where is Flora? That backstage pass you asked for was for her right?"

I stared back at Helia, not letting the man intimidate me with fear or guilt. Helia loved Flora and I did too, but neither of us played dirty to get her. Whoever Flora picked in the end was the result of a fair, honorable fight. So that's why I gave returned Helia stare an equally oppressive stare. "She'll come."

Helia did not react for the longest time. Then he laughed with sudden, unprecedented chuckle. "I'd hope so." When the grin on his face died, a slightly solemn yet nostalgic smile replaced it.

"What's with you two?" Timmy asked.

"I'll go deal with the media outside," Helia decided, paying no heed to Timmy's question. He started towards the door without waiting for any reponse.

"What's wro—" Timmy started again before Brandon pushed him towards the exit, whispering something to Timmy while he was at it. I crossed my arms and watched in confusion.

_Are they being considerate?_

…

_Like that would ever happen._

I took off my black leather jacket, revealing my bare chest, and set it on the chair. Then I check the time on the cell phone. It was midnight on the dot. Where was she? My glance floated down to the black gift bag sitting beside the chair, and I found my bending down and fingering the wrapping tissue that was sloppily spilling out. I could not wait to see her expression when she opened it.

_Where are you Flora?_

I checked the time again and gritted my teeth as a minute inched by.

My eyes kept returning to the digital clock lit up on my cellphone's screen. Before he knew it, it was already half past twelve, and that's when his patience came to an end. The other guys were waiting for him, and as much as he wanted to, Riven couldn't leave them with the press that tore celebs to shreds as if they were lions teaming up to devour their prey. If he did, Riven knew he would never hear the end to their complaints.

His eyes floated over to the gift bag once again. "Should I throw it away?" It wasn't like it was important anyways, and if Riven wasn't going to see Flora that night, then there was no point in giving the gift at a later time. The contents of the gift would have already decayed by then. And besides, he wasn't even sure if he even wanted to give her the gift. Actually, the thought of giving her _it_ was embarrassing.

With a reluctant half-grimace, I grabbed the bad and dropped it into the wastebasket before opening the door. The minute I did, a loud crash sounded followed by someone tumbling to the groun. A body was ungracefully sprawled on floor.

_What the—_

Then head lifted and beneath the mess of disheveled, cropped hair, I saw a glimmer of green.

_You can't be serious._

ººº

There are many things you never plan for in life.

For one, you never plan on finding yourself in a random man's body on the morning.

You never plan on this guy being your best friend's idol.

And you definitely do not plan on falling over this man.

Yet they all happened to me.

So that is why I decided to stop planning.

However, I should have at least planned on carrying the backstage pass Riven gave to me. I got on my tip toes and puffed my chest to look more confident.

"What are you doing?" the guard grunted.

I immediately halted and cracked and coy smile as I mussed my hair. "Um…nothing," I replied, trying to avoid the guard's questioning eyes which seemed to make me feel like a kid who stole candy.

The guard was truly intimidating with his huge built and tall height. In fact, he was so tall that I only reached his waist. I had tried to make myself seem more commanding but, sadly, I failed miserably.

"I forgot my backstage pass, but I'm sure I'm on the list. Can you please check," I briefly glanced at the nametag pinned to his torso, "Marc? I would greatly appreciate it."

"You cannot pass," he replied.

"I'm sure there must have been a mistake, I'm—"

"No," he interrupted. "Other girls wanted to enter. They cannot enter. No one enters."

"I'm not a fangirl! I really know Riven," I whined frustratedly.

"Of course," he replied dryly.

"Please?"

Marc stayed as still as a rock.

"…All right. I give up," I decided, acknowledging that all I could earn from Marc was rejection and laconic. I started to walk away.

_There must be some way to get in, _I mused.

Then a precarious option occurred to me. My vision lower and I gulped, hard.

_No, Flora, you can't do it. It would be immature…and totally unlike me. _I bit back my lower lip and chewed on it anxiously. But…_are you serious? Ok…I'm going to do it…I'm really going to do it._

I started at the austere guard for the longest time, attempted to discard my scruples. The man puffed up his chest to make him seem even bigger than he already was.

Then I let everything loose. A high pitched battle cry sounded as I charged straight into the guard's lower abdomen. Unfortunately, I aimed too low and my head connected to something…pointy?

Marc let out an excruciating cry as he shriveled into a pitiful-looking ball. But I didn't look back and think twice. I immediately zipped past him and wrenched the door knob before blasting into the backstage hallway.

"Come back here!" the man hollered. I winced at his hateful tone.

I immediately realized that attempting headbutting a man in his gut was not a good idea. You might accidently miss your target, like I did, and headbutt him in his private area.

Stirrings of panic brewed in my mind as I ran with all I had. Door after door flew pass me. I had no idea where I was going or where to go, and I had no time to think with the guard charging pelting after me like a mad bull.

I turned corner after corner after corner. Suddenly I bumped into a someone and fell back on my tush.

"Flora?"

My eyes flickered up the man's build before widening in surprise at the sight of Helia who seemed equally astounded.

Brandon's voice spoke behind him, "Helia bumped into…Woah!" he exclaimed the minute he and Timmy came into view.

"Flora? What happened?" Timmy squinted as he pushed his glasses up his nose bridge.

I had no time to sit down and chat. "H-Helia," I breathed shallowly. "Riven, where is he?"

"Down the hall. Take the second right you see. He's in the first room on the left."

"Thank you," I said accompanied with a quick bow of my head. "Oh, I would appreciate it if you told the guard chasing me that I'm not a fan girl. Again, thank you so, so, so much. Bye!"

And I was once again off on my journey. When I arrived at the door marked with the band's name on the door, I was ready to explode in tears of joy. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance because at that second, the door swung open and smacked me in the face, delivering the final attack to knock me out.

ººº

I couldn't believe my eyes. One smack to the face could do _this _much damage. I shuddered.

Flora's cheeks were both bruised and her rose red lips sported a split. As a final touch, a fresh bump swelled to the size of a cherry tomato on her forehead. At that very moment, I felt like the worst man on earth, and I felt immensely guilty

This was the woman who challenged my view.

While I supported the battle of the fittest, she stood for the weak minority with no one to represent them. While I chose sweet revenge, she chose forgiveness. While I was arrogant quick to intense anger, she was humble, understanding, and indescribably kind.

Slowly she unknowingly started to mold me into a person I had never met—tolerant, patient, and mellow. And I had no problem with it. She made me see life through a perspective I constantly rejected; she taught me that letting go of grudges brought happiness; and she kept me grounded.

Damn, this was the woman I loved.

And how did I make it up to her? I injured her. Good job Riven, I berated. You pretty much scarred Flora's most precious possession as a woman, her face. Oh wait, or was that her hair?

I leaned over a rubbed a lock of Flora's soft hair as she slept, wondering why she cut her hair. I felt oddly empty when I looked at her short hair, and my mind started to recall all those times in Flora's body when I struggled to comb the mane after showering. I sighed at the memory, rubbing the bridge of my nose and I reclined on a metal chair placed right next to Flora's sleeping body.

After she fainted, I placed her body on the only leather couch in the room and waited for her to wake up…if she did. I considered calling someone, perhaps Helia or Brandon who both knew how to deal with girl in odd situation, but I hesitated. How would I have explained how the wounds on Flora's face? I wouldn't be the enemy of women theory anymore. I would be the enemy of women in name.

So, I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Till it finally occurred to me that I waited for this girl way too much.

I started to grow restless as time pass and worried that I might have given her brain damage from the impact of the door. My palms grew clammy at the harrowing possibility. Did I destroy her life? I had heard about people who became blind after being hit on the head.

Did I blind her?

…I couldn't have.

But what if I did?

I reached over to Flora and clamped onto her shoulder, shaking her gently yet anxiously. "Flora? Flora!" When I didn't answer, every nerve in my body tensed up.

Suddenly the situation wasn't simple anymore. There wasn't just two possibilities—call the guys or wait for her to wake. There was only one—call the hospital immediately. I started to dial for the hospital in a hurry and while the dial tone calmly rang, I softly cursed. It was too slow. Finally, after what seemed to be years of waiting, someone answered.

"_Hello_," the woman chirped in an anticlimactic tone.

"Don't you 'hello' me. Send an ambulance immediately," I urgently barked through my gritted teeth.

"_Excuse me sir? What happened?"_

"Uh…I think I might have softly hit a girl with a door. Yes, I hit her so softly that she might have brain dead?" I explained to the inept woman.

"_E-Excuse me?"_

"I said she might be friggin' brain dead! Send an ambulance, now!"

"Riven?"

"And stop sounding so damn cheery."

"Riven."

"A—Huh?"

My jaw went slack and my body froze as Flora pushed herself up from the couched and blankly stared at me.

"Riven, what are you doing?" she asked with a bewildered expression.

"_I understand Sir. We will send an ambulance to where you are __**immediately**__."_

My mind suddenly unfroze at the reply. "W-Wait. I take that back. I don't need an ambulance."

"_Don't worry Sir. I need you to take a deep breath and relax. Help will be there in a few minutes. Now, calmly tell me what happened."_

"No I mean she woke up…" Silence "Hello? Hello? Hey! I'm talking to you!" I removed the phone from my ear, checking if the call was still connected. My phone ran out of battery. Shit.

"Um…Riven? Who were you talking to?" Flora looked disturbed and confused.

I couldn't meet her questioning eyes as I sat in my seat like a unmovable statue.

"Riven."

"Uh…the emergency room."

"Why did you call them?"

"…Well…I told them that you were brain dead."

I watched as her expression slowly turned into shock. "You what?"

"Told them you were brain dead…and told them to send an ambulance."

"Why?"

"Because you fainted when I hit you with the door! I thought I gave you brain trauma," I defended. "Besides, you were unconscious for so long I thought something must have gone wrong."

"Really? How long?"

"Well," I began as I flipped out my phone and checked the time, "You fainted at around 12:40 and now it is…12:42."

We both shared a long moment of stretched out silence as I contemplated my actions.

She softly sighed. "Riven, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but two minutes is not long time."

"I know." I grew silent again as I mulled over my idiotic mistake. "But…your face was so banged up so I thought…"

"My face?" She furrowed my brows in confusion as first before her eyes lit up in realization. "Oh! My face!" And suddenly her lips broke out into amused smile. "I had these bruises before I even came here."

I narrowed my eyes. "How?"

"It's a long story."

"Give me the summary then."

"Er…well, me and Musa kind of exchanged…fists," she admitted as she twiddled her fingers and lowered her head to hide her embarrassment.

I grunted. "So it was a cat fight. Didn't know you had it in you."

"It wasn't a cat fight. It was exchange of fists," she fervently insisted, a pout hanging from her lips.

"Cat fights are cat fights dude. Sorry. There are no synonyms. But…the if you guys fought then…are thing…"

"Oh…Ah! Don't worry. Everything is solved." She sported a proud grin. "As I said, it is a long story."

"But the important part is that you came," I reminded.

She stared and sported a coy grin. "Y-Yea…that's right."

"Too bad. I could have miss you."

My earned myself a playful roll of eyes and an all knowing smile. "By the way, what happened to the concert? Why aren't you still performing? When I arrived a few minutes ago, it was impossible to enter much less listen because of the chanting in the audience."

I figured that the chanting Flora mentioned must have taken place after we left the stage.

"You have a pass," I reminded.

"I kind of…forgot it…at home."

My eyes narrowed. "Then how did you get in?"

"That's…a secret."

I frowned. "I don't accept that."

"I'm sorry."

"I refuse."

"I'm sorry."

"No secrets Flora," I warned.

She shrugged. "I'm sorry."

"If you say sorry one more time, I swear—"

We both stayed still when we heard the ambulance siren in the distant.

"Was that…"

"That would be the ambulance," I completed.

"The ambulance that you called for?" she added to remind me of my embarrassing mistake.

Loud squeals echoed down the hall.

"And that?"

I grimace at the familiar cry of feminine voices. "…Fangirls?" I reluctantly said. "Are they backstage? But there is a guard in the front…"

Flora eyes flickered to and fro as she tried to hide a nervous grimace.

"Did you take out the—"

"No!"

"Woah…You took out the guard," I whistled. "He used to be a bouncer you know. How did you do it?"

"Er…um," she shyly mumbled with flushed cheeks as the sirens and squeals grew more deafening. She sprang from the couch, trying to change the subject in any way possible and scurried out the door in a hurry.

"Hey wait!" I couldn't resist smirking. In my peripheral vision, I caught the sight of the black bag sitting in the trashcan in perfect condition with no rips or stains. Before following after her, I swiftly whisked the bag out of the room.

Along the way, we encountered a mob of screaming girls who then, to our dismay, proceeded to charge at us like a pride of lion trying to take down their prey. We started running for our lives through the maze that was the backstage.

Flora breathed something incoherent in a wheezy voice as she struggled to maintain her pace.

"Dammit, are these girls on the track team?" I growled as we turned another corner. Up ahead, I spotted a crowd of people that neared as she sprinted forward. In the crowd was a cluster of reporters, and then I made out the heads of Helia, Brandon, and Timmy whom were sitting their seats, content and oblivious.

_Shit._

"Run!" I barked.

The whole crowd turned back and looked at us, and I got the pleasure of watching as bewilderment slowly morphed into frightened realization. The woman squeaked as everyone started to run around in a flurry of panic. Most started scurrying away while some stayed behind and risked their safety for a few snapshots of us running from rabid fangirls. The band on the other hand joined the former group and scurried out of our path.

Flora squeaked. "It's him," she breathed with a hint of fear in her voice that was buried by fatigue.

I immediately noticed who she was referring to, and I wondered why I hadn't noticed him earlier on. In the middle of the crowd, Marc, the guard, stood out like a sore thumb. At the same exact moment, Flora came to the end of her rope.

"Marc! Do something about these girls!" I ordered as we suddenly converged with the rest of the fleeing reporters.

We only met eye contact for a second before Marc fell into action. Without delay, He whizzed past everyone and blockaded the whole hall with his colossal body. The girls screamed in protest and rammed against him, but he did not falter. Coming to a halt, Flora turn back and shouted a stuttering, "Thank you Marc," which earned her nonchalant smile. She beamed back, satisfied, before we walked off in the opposite direction.

"Where to?" Flora asked.

"The exit."

"And where's that."

I waved my hand towards the air in front of me."…Somewhere over there."

"Oh no. Maybe we should stop and ask for directions," she considered worriedly.

"I know how to get there," I pressed.

She fixated her still gaze one me. "I know…I just wanted to make sure…that's all," she replied carefully…too carefully. It was as if she were trying to tell a child where babies came from. This woman knew how to make me feel like an immature child.

After we turned left, the siren grew louder as we continued down the hall, and after a few seconds, the exit appeared to the right with the door that was annoyingly ajar.

"See, I knew," I pointed out.

"Yes, yes….um…Riven, the paramedics are here. True to the operator's word, the ambulance had arrived immediately after a few minutes of the phone call.

ººº

This was crazy. I'm your everyday quaint, quiet, peace-loving girl, or at least I'm supposed to be, but ever since I got to know Riven, my life turned upside down. Before Riven, I had not known that she could debate about the entertainment value of the Cinderella story. I had not known that I would enjoy rock music created by the Specialists, music that she used to consider junk. I don't think I truly understood true adventure until Riven introduced it to me. Back then, I could only experience adventure vicariously through romantic novels about forbidden loves—human and vampire.

Commonplace vanished altogether. Would anyone believe me if I told them that I was riding an ambulance in the middle of the night with a worshipped rock star? Probably not. I know that I certainly wouldn't believe such an incredulous story. When the paramedics arrived, they insisted on treating me even though I assured them that I was completely all right. They wanted to conduct a checkup to make sure that my mind and body were fully function.

From there, it took a ten minute ride to the hospital and four tiring hours before I was allowed to go home. In the span of time, to my surprise, I discovered that the band had officially disbanded. I didn't know what I was feeling. Should I have congratulated or mourned?

"W-Why?"

"Well, we all decided to go our own separate ways, and there was no important reason to stay together anymore as a professional band. Since the beginning, we never intended to stay together," he explained. "And we all have our own personal reasons on top of that."

"Reasons? What kind?"

"Timmy wants to go back to school. How that nerd can miss tests is beyond me," Riven snorted. "Brandon says that he wants to go public about his relationship with Stella after the heat dies down. He's been wanting to do that for months now. Helia says he feels like stepping out of the limelight for a while."

"And you?"

"I want to stop being a product and decimate my fan group till it is a pitiful little pile of ashes. At first the fame was nice and all, but then it just got annoying. I need privacy, and besides, even I want to be open with my relationships like Brandon."

I could feel my cheeks heating up to a raging shade of red when I realized the deeper meaning of his last reason. Then I realized how I felt. I felt hesistantly comforted. Even without realizing, I had grown fearful about dating Riven in the back of my mind, and it was all because he was famous and known.

I eyed Riven.

Did he do this for me?

Riven held out stayed with me until I was allowed to leave. Many times I told Riven to head back home, but he stubbornly refused. He said, "I'm taking you home. I'm the one who smashed the door in your face, remember?" I seriously worried if he could send me home in his fatigue condition, especially since he had trouble staying awake. While waiting for the medical reports to arrive, I swore that he fell asleep with his eyes wide open while standing. But, either way, in the end, I obliged.

As we zipped through the streets, the blurred passing lights of the city bounced off the dark walls of the car, highlighting a stripe of Riven's face. I secretly casted a stare on him, but the minute his head lifted, my eyes flickered away. My breathing grew shallow as my body stilled in nervousness.

My pulse raced, and I listening to the groaning of the engine to calm my uncooperative heart to a steady, slow beat. We were alone in the dark comfort of a car at four in the morning. The mere thought of the situation made me fidget in my seat.

While Riven pulled into the driveway and set the car to park, he spoke up, "I have a present for me."

"M-Me?" I stuttered as my head shot up and an anticipated half-smile flew to my lips.

"Yah, I kind of saw it during tour, and it kind of reminded me of you," he cringed. "Never mind, that was sappiest thing I've ever said."

I happily sighed and asked, "So where is it?"

He cocked his head towards the back of the car. "Backseat."

I looked back and sure enough, a large black gift bag sat at the corner of a seat, almost hidden in the shadows. I tilted my body towards the seat, stretching my arms for the gift until my fingers caught the handle and flung it to the front.

After I dug through the wrapping tissue, I saw what was inside. Inside was beautiful. Its body was tall and fragile as if a little force could split it in half, but body branched out and feathery pink petals sprouted from the branches and crowded together gregariously. I immediately recognized the flowers.

"Cherry blossoms?"

"Yah."

"You bought me a branch," I giggled.

His brows furrowed and he donned a frustration. "What? Why are you laughing?"

"Oh nothing. It's just that I've never gotten a branch before. I've gotten flowers, potted plants, saplings, but not a branch. Never a branch."

"…I knew it. This was a bad idea," he groaned.

"Oh no, no. I love it! I really do…I'll probably graft it and plant it."

"That's good."

I chewed on my lower lip. I had no inkling on what to say before I went upstairs to my room. All I could do was act coy.

"I have to thank you," Riven suddenly said out of the blue. My eyes flashed to him.

"Why?"

"For being with me and making me..uh…happy," he said rather awkwardly while he scratch the back of his head. "Anyways—"

"Me too! I'm really happy because you are with me now. You've given me so much Riven, and you probably don't even know it. I don't know how much to thank you. You've been so tolerate, and, and," I bumbled, "I really love you."

I felt relieved, as if a heavy weight was lift off my shoulders after an agonizing hike. I finally told him. My heart be racing at an erratic speed even after I confessed. In the flurry of nervousness, I continued on, "And I know we may argue a lot of the most trivial things, but I love it! I love it when you show me new views. And I look forward to a future with you in it."

Riven paused and I started to worry that he was displeased. Perhaps the way I talked to too clumsy and irritated him. Then finally, after an eternity of waiting, he said, "Was that a confession?"

I wanted to smack him over the head with a flowerpot. "Of course! What did you think it was?"

"A proposal," he smirked.

My lips formed into a thin, crooked line as an expression of half-anger and half- frustration fell on my face. "Riven," I whined. "I was trying to be serious."

"I know. I Love you too so shut up for a second," he quickly and coolly added before he swiftly dived down, tilted my chin up gently, and claimed my lips. The kiss was softer than I thought. I felt electricity run down every nerve in my body, heating up my body to a burning temperature. When we finally released, I loudly gasped. I must have unknowingly held my breath during the whole kiss.

Riven arrogantly smirked, and then said the one line that destroyed the whole atmosphere, "I'm good at kissing right?"

I frowned and glared and him.

He let out a hearty laugh as I continued wearing my disappointed look.

I couldn't believe this guy. He was a man without a single romantic nerve in his body. I knew fully well that he was rude and obnoxious and yet, somehow this crude man who was rough around the edges drew me closer like a moth to a fire. We both had traveled from the opposite sides of the spectrum and met halfway. The journey had been arduous and sometimes made me want to pull out my hair in frustration or cry a pond, but the destination was all worth it. It was priceless.

No.

Maybe it was the journey that was priceless.

ººº

"_Star new! Star news! We have the latest gossip on all the stars. We'll tell you everything from Musa hot flings with a certain, cute idol to Mitzi's mental breakdown because of her breast implant gone wrong. Keep lis—"_

"One strawberry shake for you miss"

A full glass was placed on the table in front of me. I glanced up at a man who sported a cheeky grin.

"Having fun roleplaying waiter, Riven?"

Riven slide into his chair and placed his own chocolate shake in front of him in one fluid motion. "Yea. So what were you watching?" His violet eyes squinted at the television screen mounted on the wall. "Mitzi and lopsided boobs?" he paused. "Oh sorry. I should be polite. _Breasts_."

"Thank you. I appreciate the effort," I replied with teasing sarcasm. "Well, they were talking about Musa too."

"Oh yea. You haven't seen a lot her as much as before since she became famous huh?"

"It can't be avoided. She can't room with me anymore with the status that she has."

He thoughtfully hummed and took a sip of his shake while I eyed his carefully.

"You sure you don't want to do anything with music?"

Riven drew in a deep breath through his nostrils and exhaled from his mouth. "I'm sure I don't want to. And it isn't because I don't want to drag you into the limelight. Maybe eventually after many years of idleness, but right now, it has only been a year since the band disbanded."

"Did you hate your work…when you were a musician?"

"It's not like I hate it. It just did not like the attention. I hated being on some girl's wall and watching the world pry into my private life. It's creepy. But Helia and Brandon must have thought otherwise, or else they wouldn't have delved back into the industry so quickly."

I sipped my shake. A few months after the band disbanded, Brandon became a male model and Helia decided to venture into a solo artist career while Timmy decided to go back to school and study. Riven, after weeks of pondering his life's purpose, he decided to fulfill his childhood dream: training to be a stunt double.

And as for me, I continued on with my original work as a florist. Actually, a few days ago, I met Saladin when she entered the shop to buy a bouquet of red roses with a gilded love note. I immediately knew that the gift were for Faragonda and couldn't help but foolishly grin for the rest of the day.

"Hey," Riven began, startling me out of my brief daydream, "So since Musa is gone now, does that mean that you have to pay the apartment rent by yourself."

"Pretty much. She wanted to help me pay, but I refused her generosity. It seemed unfair on her part even though she can afford it now."

"Is it hard to pay the rent?"

"Sometimes, but I get by."

Then the question came flying from out of nowhere: "Why don't we live together?"

And a new chapter of my life began.

**THE END**

* * *

_I got carried away with the chapter. Somehow instead of traveling from point A to point B, I took a little detour and ended up at point B 1/2. Anyways, I'm done! Finally. After chapters filled with subtle fluff, emotional angst, snippets of humor, stereotypes, those classic love formulas, you've finally arrived at the bottom of the last chapter. Give yourself a pat on the back. Thank you for sticking with me all this time and, for the the last time, let me know your final thoughts. You can review or send a PM. Both make me happy. Again, thank you._

_Renachi_


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